The UK Nuclear Industry At the forefront of nuclear science and industry for over 250 years
John Dalton FRS Born in Eaglesfield, Cockermouth 1766 Chemist, Physicist and Meteorologist best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, his research into colour blindness and measuring the heights of Lake District Fells! One of the founders of the University of Manchester Atomic Mass Unit (Da) and Dalton Nuclear Institute named in his honour
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
The UK s Role in Nuclear Power Development UK played a pioneering role Led the world in technology and organisations Solved many of the challenges associated with an industrial nuclear power programme Operated safely and responsibly Delivered benefits to the UK in terms of electricity generation & overseas sales 5
1946 January February March August November - British Government decides to set up atomic production organisation, as part of the Ministry of Supply - Headquarters at Risley - Uranium processing plant at Springfields, Preston announced - US Atomic Energy Act ( the McMahon Act) becomes law and effectively ends US/UK collaboration - Atomic Energy Act UK Government Charges William Penney to report on the viability of building a UK A-bomb. AWRE and AEA established: William Penney Headed up Aldermaston (Weapons Group). John Cockcroft Headed up Harwell (Research Group) Christopher Hinton Headed up the Industrial Group 6
1947 January - Ministers decide on production of British A-Bomb Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary We ve got to have it and it's got to have a ****** Union Jack on it. August September - New atomic energy site at Windscale (Sellafield) announced - Construction work starts on Windscale (Sellafield) Site 7
The Nuclear Age begins 1949 November 1950 April New Uranium Enrichment Site at Capenhurst near Chester announced Chemical Separation Plant completed October Windscale Pile 1 goes critical 1951 June Windscale Pile 2 goes critical 8
Production of Plutonium Mining of uranium ore Store cladding Manufacture into fuel Remove cladding Dissolve in nitric acid Irradiate in nuclear reactor (Pile) Uranium Chemical separation Plutonium Radioactive fission products 9
Early Nuclear Sites Research at Harwell Uranium production at Springfields Piles & Associated Reprocessing at Windscale Windscale Enrichment at Capenhurst Springfields Capenhurst (Another route to nuclear weapons is by enrichment of uranium, but that s another story) Harwell 10
Challenges of working with radioactive material Ionising radiation is potentially hazardous Processes that produce radiation or involve radioactive materials need a different approach from conventional industrial processes Reactors and chemical processes placed behind shielding (Thick layers of concrete, steel, lead) High integrity engineering Prevention of leaks & escapes of radioactive liquids & gases Ventilation & filtration Limited (or zero) opportunity for manual invention 11
In the beginning Lots of room Away from population centres Supplies of clean process water Effluent discharge to sea 12
The Windscale Piles 2 graphite air cooled reactors Fuelled with uranium metal Clad with Aluminium Pile 1 critical Oct 1950 Pile 2 in June 1951 13
Large construction projects 14
Windscale Piles 15
1 st Sellafield Reprocessing Plant Chemical reprocessing to recover Pu and convert it to a metal: Declad Dissolve Solvent Extraction Separate U from Pu Pu converted to metal 16
1 st Reprocessing Plant 17
1952 July October - Plutonium for test bomb delivered to Aldermaston - Hurricane - first British A-Bomb test in the Monte Bello Islands, off the North West coast of Australia 18
Windscale Fire 10 th October 1957 A world famous accident Fire caused by inadvertent energy release from the graphite (Wigner energy) Uranium ignited & burning in air Radioactivity dispersed to surrounding countryside Recovery & shutdown of Piles 1st major industry safety & public relations issue The NRPB report: The Windscale fire was a serious nuclear accident However, the reactor was not large compared to modern power reactors, and a filter on the stack managed to restrict the atmospheric discharge, particularly of iodine-131. This, coupled with countermeasures applied at the time, especially the imposition of restrictions on the consumption of cows' milk, meant that the risks to the most exposed individuals and to the population as a whole were small. It is unlikely that any effects could be seen in the population that could be attributed to the Windscale fire. This is in contrast to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident where the releases of iodine-131, iodine-132 and tellurium-132 were 1,000 times higher 19
1 st civil nuclear power programme On 30 January 1953 Duncan Sandys, Minister of Supply, announced Britain's first civil nuclear power programme. to build a full-scale nuclear power station to carry out a long-term research programme into the possibility of developing a fast breeder reactor. 21
1 st commercial nuclear power station Calder Hall Generate electricity as well as Pu production Uranium metal clad in magnesium alloy Graphite moderator CO 2 cooled Initially 2 reactors (45 MWe) 22
Calder Hall & Chapelcross 1st 2 Calder reactors followed by a further 6 2 at Calder and 4 at Chapelcross Power production began in 17th October 1956 Generation continued until 2003 Chapelcross de-fuel completed 2013 23
"A Programme of Nuclear Power" February 1955, a White Paper "A Programme of Nuclear Power A major programme of another four stations, with the first two stations in operation by 1960-1961 and the other two to follow eighteen months later, with reactor sizes between 50 and 100 MW. A further four stations would come into operation in 1963-1964 with another four in operation by 1965 24
UK commits to Nuclear Electricity Production Decision to build fleet of Magnox power stations Based on Calder design, but higher power 9 more stations over period 1962 To 1971 Sale of 2 overseas stations Latina & Tokai Mura 25
Britain s Magnox Stations Hunterston A (Decommissioning) Chapelcross (Decommissioning) Calder Hall (Decommissioning) Sellafield Wylfa (2014) Trawsfynydd (Decommissioning) Berkeley (Decommissioning) Sizewell A (Decommissioning) Oldbury (2012) Hinkley Point A (Decommissioning) Bradwell (Decommissioning) Dungeness A (Decommissioning) FS1265.5
The Magnox Fleet Site Power (MWe) Generation began Berkeley 334 1962 Bradwell 258 1962 Hunterston 338 1964 Trawsfynydd 472 1965 Dungeness 456 1965 Hinkley Pt 498 1965 Oldbury 450 1965 Sizewell 500 1966 Wylfa 1100 1971 27
2 nd Reprocessing Plant 2nd fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield begins in 1964 Reprocessing Plant + associated product finishing & waste treatment Cladding stored underwater in silos Fission product solutions stored as concentrated acidic wastes 28
UK s Low Level Waste Repository At Drigg, near Sellafield Waste initially tumble tipped into trenches Later, packaged into containers & grouted with cement 29
Sellafield integral to nuclear electricity generation Annual arising of about 1000 te of irradiated fuel Requirement to reprocess Unable to store indefinitely (corrosion of Magnox) Future legacies No encapsulation/treatment of solid wastes All fission products from reprocessing stored as liquid 30
UK continues research into nuclear energy AGR at Windscale 1963 until 1981 DFR 1959-77 Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) & High Temperature Reactor (Dragon) at Winfrith DFR & PFR at Dounreay Fast reactor fuel production at Sellafield Fast reactor fuel reprocessing at Dounreay PFR 1974-94 31
Research Sites Dounreay All involved reactors or processing of nuclear material Significant decommissioning challenges Windscale Berkeley Winfrith Harwell 32
2 nd Generation of Nuclear Reactors April 1964 plans for the next phase of nuclear power in the UK. 5000 MW of capacity in the years 1970-1975. UK decision to build 2nd generation of nuclear reactors AGR x 6 stations At 3 existing sites and 3 new sites A further 2 stations came on stream in the late 1980s Finally, in 1980, Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) decision on PWR Sizewell B 33
Uranium Enrichment at Capenhurst Originally to produced highly enriched uranium for weapons Change to production of low enriched uranium for power reactors Initially by gaseous diffusion Latterly by gas centrifuge 34
Britain s AGR & PWR Stations Torness Hunterston B Heysham l Hartlepool Heysham ll Sizewell B Hinkley Point B Dungeness B 35 FS1265.5
The 2 nd Generation Fleet Site Power (MWe) Generation began Hunterston B 1320 1976 Hinkley Pt B 1320 1976 Dungeness B 1260 1983 Hartlepool 1320 1983 Heysham 1 1200 1983 Heysham 2 1380 1988 Torness 1380 1988 Sizewell B 1188 1995 36
Head End Plant interim measure BNFL contracts for reprocessing of AGR and overseas LWR fuel Chop & dissolve oxide fuels 1st cycle of purification in original packed columns Shutdown following an unintended chemical reaction between acid, solvent & heat generating solids 37
3 rd Reprocessing Plant (THORP) BNFL decides to build 2nd generation of reprocessing plant (THORP) Fuel from AGRs intended for reprocessing Wins overseas contracts (Japan and Europe) 38
Fuels for THORP LWR fuel AGR fuel 39
Mixed oxide fuel production A means to return plutonium to customers MOX fuel assemblies are mechanically identical to UO 2 assemblies 40
Nuclear Legacies around the UK Research reactors (Harwell, Winfrith, Dounreay) Prototype reactors (WAGR, SGHWR,Dragon,DFR,PFR) Power reactors all of the Magnox stations by 2012 Irradiated fuel processing facilities at Dounreay Irradiated fuel processing facilities at Sellafield 41
Legacies at Sellafield from the early days Windscale Piles 1 st Reprocessing Plant B29 pond for Pile fuels B41 silo for pile fuel cladding 42
First Generation Magnox Storage Pond 43
The Legacies at Sellafield Power production Calder reactors FGMSP pond for Magnox fuel storage MSSS silo for Magnox cladding Magnox generation due to cease in 2016 Fuel for reprocessing Reprocessing facilities 44
And in the future From Oxide Fuel Processing Facilities Highly active liquor storage Vitrification Liquid Effluent Treatment Irradiated fuel & Pu residues 45
The site began like this. 46
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1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Power Reactor Construction in the UK Construction Calder Hall Chapelcross Berkeley Bradwell Hunterston Hinkley Point A Trawsfynydd Dungeness A Sizewell A Oldbury Wylfa Dungeness B Hartlepool Hinkley B Hunterston B Heysham 1 Heysham 2 Torness Sizewell B Reactors Building 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 4 6 9 10 10 10 10 8 6 6 8 10 10 10 11 12 12 10 8 8 6 10 13 14 14 16 16 14 10 12 14 8 4 4 Magnox (11) Starts AGR (5) Starts AGR (2) Starts PWR Start
51 The Changing Structure of the UK Nuclear Industry
UK Nuclear Industry c. 1975 Uranium UOC ore Purification Uranium metal production Uranium Hexafluoride production Springfields Uranium metal Fuel Uranium Oxide Fuel Reactor and Process R&D Harwell CEGB Magnox Reactors CEGB AGR Reactors Reactor Design Fuel plant design Fuel Element Design Risley, Culcheth Reprocessing U,Pu Separation Pu storage Gaseous Diffusion Centrifuge Uranium Enrichment Capenhurst U recycle UKAEA BNFL U storage Sellafield Snapshot: 1975 R&D UKAEA, fuel cycle BNFL (from 1971), MTR and research reactors UKAEA, power reactors BNFL and CEGB (all state owned)
History of the UK Companies - early days The original responsibility for producing an atomic bomb was placed with the Ministry of Supply January 1946 A commitment to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes led to the formation of the UKAEA (July 1954) UKAEA given responsibility for R&D and took over the industrial operations of fuel production, enrichment & reprocessing The commitment to electricity generation became the responsibility of CEGB (and the SSEB) builds and operate power stations UKAEA produced the fuel and undertook reprocessing 53
History of the UK Companies developing maturity In 1971 BNFL was formed from that part of UKAEA which ran the industrial operations Leaving UKAEA to continue with research and latterly decommissioning Enrichment operations were undertaken in a 3 nation consortium (Britain, Holland, Germany) Urenco Ltd was established in 1993 with BNFL holding a 1/3 stake. [www.urenco.com/] 54
Electricity Privatisation 1989-96 CEGB would be split into two generating companies, the larger National Power containing the nuclear stations, separated from the National Grid Company. However, by November 1989, due to the apparent large liabilities for waste disposal and decommissioning, the City would not accept investment in nuclear power stations. So the Secretary of State for Energy, John Wakeham, decided to create a new public sector companies The nuclear station placed in government company Nuclear Electric & Scottish Nuclear Then Magnox stations moved to Magnox Electric, then into BNFL AGRs & PWR into British Energy British Energy privatised in 1996 55
UKAEA privatisation The science & technology component in UKAEA was organised as a separate business AEA Technology plc Subsequently privatised out of UKAEA (in 1996) nuclear business progressively sold to other players. UKAEA retained responsibility for clean-up and decommissioning Babcock International Group bought UKAEA Ltd October 2009 (Now Cavendish Nuclear) 56
NIREX Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive (NIREX) To examine safe, environmental & economic aspects of deep geological disposal of intermediate-level and low-level radioactive waste Rock Characterisation Facility planning enquiry 1997 57
NIREX Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive To examine safe, environmental & economic aspects of deep geological disposal of intermediate-level and low-level radioactive waste, Rock Characterisation Facility planning enquiry 1997 Ownership transferred to the UK Government departments DEFRA and DTI in April 2005 Nirex transferred to NDA ownership in 2006 Radioactive Waste Mangement Directorate (RWMD) 58
Government Review of Waste Management policy DEFRA policy review - appointed committee (CoRWM) Committee on Radioactive Waste Management Recommendations on way forward for waste management CoRWM: Set of interdependent proposals July 2006 Geological disposal Robust interim storage Intensified R&D programme geological disposal/alternatives Community involvement Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Consultation November 2007 59
Major change with the formation of the NDA NDA (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) a non-departmental public body (Energy Act 2004) Safe, accelerated and affordable clean-up of the UK's civil nuclear legacy: Nuclear sites and facilities operated by the UKAEA & BNFL, the wastes, materials and spent fuels they produced between the 1940s and 1960s; and the Magnox fleet of nuclear power stations and facilities at Sellafield used for the reprocessing of Magnox fuel; and all associated wastes and materials. 60
Ministry of Supply - 1946 UKAEA CEGB & SSEB UKAEA BNFL Amersham National Grid National Power PowerGen UKAEA AEAT Magnox Electric Nuclear Electric Scottish Nuclear BNFL British EDF Energy DSRL RSRL Sellafield Ltd LLWR Ltd Magnox Electric Ltd Westinghouse NNL 61 Note: Overview for illustration not a complete picture
NDA Site Locations Responsible for: 39 reactors (gas, water and metal cooled) 5 fuel reprocessing plants 3 fuel fabrication plants 1 redundant enrichment plant 5 nuclear laboratory complexes 62
Babcock International Group (UK) RSRL (SLC) Babcock International Group (UK), CH2MHILL, URS (US) DSRL (SLC) Urenco (D, NL, UK???) Magnox Ltd (SLC) Cavendish Fluor Partnership UK/US Toshiba (J) Westinghouse (US) Sellafield Ltd (SLC) NMP Areva (F) AMEC (UK) URS (US) UK Nuclear Industry 2014 UF4, previously UOC UF6 Springfields Fuel, UF6 Capenhurst Enrichment LEUF6 Last fuel supply 2008 Reactor AP1000 Westinghouse Toshiba US/J) Dounreay ChapX Calder Magnox AGRs SXB Magnox Repro AGR Repro Ops, Fuel Cycle Cleanup EDF (F) Magnox SF Storage AGR SF Storage Magnox Ops + Cleanup NDA NDA Harwell NB1 NB2 EDF (F) Horizon (J) Reactors EPR Areva (F) Fuel Areva (?) Reactors ABWR Hitachi (J) Fuel Hitachi (?) * Winfrith NB3 NuGen (J, Fr) Reactors AP1000 Fuel Westinghouse (?) Control by licence/ownership Control by contract
National Nuclear Laboratory: The Future Continued operation of existing reactors Legacy waste management / decommissioning New nuclear build Geological disposal Plutonium stockpile disposition Naval propulsion support programme Advanced reactor (Gen IV) and fuel cycle development Space Power systems Security, non-proliferation & safeguards Deterrent technologies Nuclear Fusion 64
New Build 65