Sellafield Kevin Coyne National Officer for Energy & Utilities

Transcription

1 Sellafield Kevin Coyne National Officer for Energy & Utilities Neal Evans Research & Policy Officer at the Heart of a Low Carbon Energy Future This document was researched and published by Unite on behalf of the Sellafield Workers Campaign. Head Office Unite, Unite House, 128 Theobald's Road, Holborn, London WC1X 8TN Joe Murdock SWC Chair Craig Dobson SWC Secretary Steve Nicholson SWC Comms Officer (JN5768)(3) HB

2 The Sellafield Workers Campaign The Sellafield workforce place a high priority on job creation. Without good quality, highly skilled jobs now and in the future, such as the nuclear industry can provide, West Cumbria faces bleak and uncertain times. The Sellafield Workers Campaign core aim is to achieve the ongoing development of the nuclear industry and reap the rightful community investments and benefits associated with such. Primarily we seek to enable this by finding a long term solution for the UK's higher level wastes-promoting new nuclear build as a source of low carbon base load energy and to support the re-use of plutonium. The Sellafield Workers Campaign will also work with all like minded stakeholders, including Copeland and Allerdale Borough Councils, to develop and enhance Britain's Energy Coast and support employment diversification with the aim of enabling local youth development and gainful employment leading to the sustainable economic growth of West Cumbria. Introduction Long term sustained investment in Sellafield needs to become a reality if the aspiration of successive governments to create a genuinely low carbon economy is to be achieved. The same investment could also ensure that the UK s current stockpile of nuclear materials can be converted into a sustainable supply of low carbon energy. Alongside this investment should be the construction of a new nuclear power station, interim and long term storage facilities for nuclear materials to facilitate the UK wide nuclear new build programme and the establishment of an effective programme to examine the productive re-use of plutonium stocks at Sellafield. The Sellafield Workers Campaign are confident that such investment will facilitate long term economic growth at regional and national level and provide sustainable and highly skilled employment for generations of workers. The Reality of Energy Policy Even the most casual observer of economic and political debate cannot fail to appreciate the mounting significance of power generation in the UK economy. Progressive governments will have tough choices to make as they seek to balance legally binding targets to reduce carbon emissions with providing a stable foundation for economic growth, whilst at the same time reducing energy price inflation. The Sellafield Workers Campaign is exceptionally mindful of the current limitations of the UK s power generating capacity. The Sellafield Workers Campaign is legitimately concerned that without co-ordinated, significant and sustained investment in generating capacity into the medium and long term the UK faces the very real possibility of regular power shortages, which will limit future economic growth and investment. Threats to Energy Supply This is not the scaremongering of a lone voice. The simple and objective fact is that the UK government is signed up to two European Directives, those being the Large Combustion Plant Directive and the Industrial Emissions Directive. Without a practical strategy and investment programme to negate the subsequent limitations on future generating capacity there will be significant problems with the delivery of energy in the UK economy. 2 3

3 In 2013 a number of coal fired power stations are due to close including those at Didcot A and Tilbury, along with a number of oil fired power stations. This will result in an immediate reduction of 10% in generating capacity. Added to this dynamic is the fact that existing nuclear generating capacity is in a state of decline, particularly with the closure of the Oldbury nuclear power station in February In fact in the next 11 years all but one of Britain s existing nuclear power stations are scheduled to close. In his lecture of the 19th February 2013 the Chief Executive of Ofgem, Alistair Buchanan, warned that future capacity shortages will result in a dangerous over reliance on imported gas resulting in a 22% increase in bills by It was also identified in the same lecture that the current level of investment required to reverse this worrying trend stands at 95 billion. 1 Of course any delay in this investment will increase the cost. This stark warning isn t an isolated voice, on the 21st March 2013 the Chief Executive of Scottish and Southern Energy warned that there is a very real risk of the lights going out in Britain. 2 In the same interview he went on to suggest that the government was significantly under estimating the scale of the capacity crunch facing the country. Based on the intelligence provided to us by our members in the industry Unite are inclined to agree with this position. The Sellafield Workers Campaign are also mindful that the growing pressure on generating capacity increases the reliance of the UK on imported energy supplies. Continued delays in the investment required to utilise domestic energy supplies could, by the governments own admission expose the UK to price spikes and potentially in the most serious cases to physical supply disruptions. 3 Nuclear Generation The Sellafield Workers Campaign were recently encouraged by government assertion that it has a vision of the UK nuclear industry becoming a global leader 4 and share the view that potential direct benefits will extend into the manufacturing, construction, professional services and education sectors. However, the Sellafield Workers Campaign expect to see this commitment backed up with a strategic and co-ordinated investment programme. Given the current state of the UK economy the export potential of this global leader aspiration cannot be overlooked. The global nuclear industry is estimated to be worth around 95 billion and is growing at 2.1% per annum. 5 The Sellafield Workers Campaign are also exceptionally mindful of the recent statement that the nuclear new build programme alone has the potential to create 30,000 6 skilled jobs at its peak. Naturally, the Sellafield Workers Campaign are fully supportive of the roll out of the nuclear new build programme and are keen to see investment alongside that for a range of new nuclear facilities to enable the UK to become a global leader. The Sellafield Workers Campaign believe that the site will be integral to any long term investment and development strategy designed to achieve this goal. Consequently we are extremely concerned about the continuing negative publicity about the site. 4 1 Will GB s Lights Stay on and Will the Gas keep Flowing: a Look at the Next Decade Ofgem 19th February Reported on the BBC website 21st March Energy Supply Security, Department of Energy & Climate Change November The Nuclear Supply Chain Action Plan, HM Government December The Nuclear Supply Chain Action Plan, HM Government December Nuclear Industry Association Capability Report December

4 Sellafield Sellafield is a huge nuclear site with the most diverse portfolio of any comparable site in the world. Consequently it has the largest concentration of nuclear expertise in Europe. Sellafield will generate over 1 billion of revenue just for the local supply chain over the next five years. 7 Since 1947 Sellafield has been the UK s principle site for the production, treatment, management and storage of radioactive material and waste. The site now encompasses hundreds of facilities associated with decommissioning the UK s nuclear legacy. The work includes recycling used fuel from nuclear power stations, managing and storing nuclear materials, and processing and storage of low, intermediate and high level nuclear waste. Facilities at the site include the THORP (thermal oxide reprocessing plant) and the Magnox nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. It is also the site of the remains of Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station which generated electricity from 1956 through to 2003 and which is now in the process of being decommissioned. The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory also has its central laboratory on the Sellafield site. Since its inception as a nuclear facility Sellafield has also been host to a number of reprocessing operations, which separate the uranium, plutonium, and fission products from spent nuclear fuel. The uranium can then be used in the manufacture of new nuclear fuel, or in applications where its density is an asset. The plutonium can be used in the manufacture of mixed oxide fuel (MOX) for thermal reactors, or as fuel for fast reactors. Since April 2005 Sellafield has been owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). In 2008 the NDA contracted the management of Sellafield Ltd to Nuclear Management Partners Ltd, a consortium of US company URS, British company AMEC, and AREVA of France. The initial contract is for five years, with extension options to 17 years. On 18 October 2010 the UK government announced that Sellafield was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations. In June 2011, the UK government confirmed plans to build a new nuclear reactor at Sellafield, at the same time suggesting that the power station could be completed before Less than a year later, In August 2011 the NDA announced the closure of the Sellafield MOX fuel production plant with an impact on 800 jobs. For the workers at Sellafield this sent an unambiguous message that the future of the site will not be sustained through existing operations alone. The Whole Fuel Cycle With this development in mind the Sellafield Workers Campaign are extremely concerned about current plans to shut down the THORP and Magnox operations at Sellafield by 2018, potentially reducing employment opportunities at the THROP plant by a third and threatening a further 7,000+ jobs in the supply chain and related service industries by The Sellafield Workers Campaign believe that these plans to effectively close current reprocessing operations at the site are seriously misguided and would call on government to ensure that such facilities are not disabled or decommissioned in any way until alternative and credible alternatives are developed. In fact if government are serious about the stated aspiration that the UK is to become a leader in the global nuclear renaissance it must take account of the whole nuclear cycle from manufacture of fuel through to reprocessing, and the relevance of this capacity here in the UK for the expanding global market. Which is why the Sellafield Workers Campaign believe that the proposed closure of THORP before a viable alternative is established in effect undermines concurrent policy positions and stated strategies. Within the context of this dynamic the Sellafield Workers Campaign would also look to government to take the necessary steps to ensure the longevity of the Springfields fuel production site in Salwick. In short government must develop a strategy to improve the prospects for the UK nuclear industry to be in a position to develop and export its fuel manufacture and reprocessing capacities as well as focusing on the manufacturing supply chain. 7 Stated intention of Sellafield Ltd in their socio-economic impact statement 6 7

5 The Strategic Importance of Sellafield West Cumbria has a working age population of 103, Sellafield is one of the largest private sector employers in the region and is crucial to current and future employment opportunities in the Copeland constituency, where 36% 9 of all those currently claiming job seekers allowance are aged between 18 and 24. Sellafield Ltd employs well over 10,000 permanent staff on the site, including several hundred apprentices at any one time. This represents nearly half of all the whole of the UK s nuclear workforce. Indeed Copeland Borough Council are themselves acutely aware of the significance of the site and state on their own website that the decline of around 3,500 manufacturing jobs in recent years has been offset by the opportunities at Sellafield. 10 Of course the opportunities are not just at Sellafield, we should consider for example the location of the nearest steel facility owned by TATA just a few miles away at Workington which could be utilised in the short term for the re-cyling and re-smelting of metal from the Sellafield site as well as providing the metallic containers for use in future interim and long term storage facilities. Without highly skilled quality job opportunities now and into the future, which the nuclear industry has provided for generations, West Cumbria faces a bleak economic uncertain future. As does the rest of the UK economy without the growth that will be stimulated by the nuclear new build programme and other related investments. Future Potential to Re-Use Existing Plutonium Stocks As the government is fully aware Sellafield is home to a significant amount of surplus plutonium reprocessed from nuclear fuel since the 1950 s. This objective fact needs to be set against current forecasts which suggest that global supplies of uranium will be in decline after 2023 as a result of increased demand for new nuclear reactors, primarily in China and India. Being mindful of the position taken by the former government Chief Scientist, Sir David King 11 and others, and having examined this issue in some detail Unite are convinced that there is significant potential to re-use much of the UK s 112 metric tonnes of plutonium stock as a fuel for the effective and efficient generation of low carbon energy. The workers at Sellafield have indicated that this use of the stock would be preferable to simply having it managed by successive generations of workers at the site. On this issue the Sellafield Workers Camapign is supportive of the current government position that the plutonium should be used as a MOX fuel and believe that this option could be implemented safely and securely. Similarly the Sellafield Workers Campaign believe that further investigation and research needs to take place to determine whether or not the existing plutonium stock can be used in a Generation IV reactor such as a PRISM (Power Reactor Innovative Small Module) or CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactor. Whichever process or processes are adopted the Sellafield Workers Campaign hold the view that subsequent operations should take place at the Sellafield site to minimise the need to transfer the plutonium stocks elsewhere. Future Potential for Nuclear New Build In October 2009 NuGen (a joint venture of GDF Suez and Iberdrola) announced that it had been successful in securing an option to purchase land for the development of a new nuclear power station near Sellafield on the West Cumbrian coast from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for a total cash consideration of 70m. In June 2011, the UK government confirmed through its National Policy Statement, that NuGen s site was suitable for a new nuclear power station. On 1 December 2011 NuGen announced that the name Moorside had been selected as the project name. The Sellafield Workers Campaign are fully supportive of the plans to build and operate a new nuclear power station at the Sellafield site and call on government to expedite the process and ensure that the infrastructure, electricity transmission network and financial incentives are in place so that the new power station is built and in operation at the earliest opportunity. Without such intervention the majority of the 280 trainees a year which it is planned will be put through the newly created construction skills centre at Lakes College in Workington will find themselves having to move out of West Cumbria in order to gain productive employment. 8 8 The West Cumbria Economic Blueprint 9 Unemployment by Constituency March 2013, House of Commons Library 20th March Part of opening statement on Copeland Borough Council Website 11 Interview in The Guardian 15th March

6 Future Potential for a Geological Disposal Facility The Sellafield Workers Campaign are exceptionally disappointed that Cumbria County Council recently voted against a study into a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste. The role that such a facility could play in the UK s nuclear renaissance cannot be underestimated. Alongside the strategic importance of the site for the whole nuclear industry and new build programme, the Sellafield Workers Campaign were also acutely aware of the fact that the site would have provided quality sustained employment opportunities for West Cumbria for around 140 years averaging out at 555 jobs each year over the life cycle of the facility. 12 The Council s decision only serves to create further cost and delay, with billions more being spent on managing nuclear waste with no permanent solution on the horizon. Even without the decision taken by Cumbria County Council, the National Audit Office had already estimated that the governments process for site identification meant that a facility wouldn t be operational until It is vital that government now works with those councils in Cumbria that did back the proposal to proceed with further studies into the waste facility in order to find a way forward. Barriers to Growth The development of the UK nuclear industry and the proposed nuclear new build programme cannot be taken in isolation from global developments. There is already a tight deadline to secure and deliver new low carbon electricity generating capacity. Global demand for nuclear power will inevitably put pressure on the relatively small number of companies that have the skills and capacity to deliver the infrastructure. To put this into context we need to consider the fact that there are currently 60 nuclear power stations under construction worldwide with a further 150 being planned. The Sellafield Workers Campaign are convinced of the fact that further delay and indecision in the UK has the potential to drive the limited resources elsewhere, which at best would ultimately result in massive cost and time overruns for the UK nuclear new build programme and at worst jeopardise the programme altogether. Recommendations of the Sellafield Workers Campaign In order to ensure that Sellafield can play a full and productive role in the future low carbon economy and stimulate investment in related technologies in West Cumbria, the Sellafield Workers Campaign would call on government to: Grant the Sellafield site enhanced status as the UK s National Nuclear Waste Management and Development Centre. Establish a local planning authority to have sole jurisdiction over Sellafield, covering all land and assets within an agreed radius of the site. Maintain a clear and unequivocal commitment to the Sellafield site, including the construction of a new nuclear power station. Without delay, examine then enact the potential to effectively re-use the stockpile of plutonium currently stored at the Sellafield site for the purposes of power generation and waste management. Begin a new search for a geological disposal facility, with the search taking place within the perimeter of the proposed new planning authority. Increase funding to Sellafield to accelerate decommissioning operations in order to improve the efficiency and safety of the site. Facilitate without delay the necessary scientific and construction work at Sellafield to create new state of the art interim storage facilities. Ensure that the THORP reprocessing plant and its associated facilities are not yet decommissioned until alternative and credible alternatives are developed and in operation. Increase investment in research & development at Sellafield, with particular concentration on finding innovative ways to condition nuclear waste and materials, in relation to minimising volume for a geological disposal facility Facilitate and publicly support the establishment of a Sellafield Benefits Package Partnership that promotes community benefits to include; Economic Development, Skills & Education and Community Development Geological Disposal Manpower and Skills Requirements, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority May The Nuclear Energy Landscape in Great Britain, National Audit Office April