10-year-old Sellafield Plant May Beclosedrnthe Guardian -17 February

摘要

One of the great white elephants of Britain's atomic industry looks set for closure, according to documents published by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The NDA is examining the closure of Sellafield's troubled "mixed oxide" or Mox production plant, which has performed badly since it was opened 10 years ago. The demise of the long-troubled Sellafield Mox plant (SMP) would be an embarrassment for ministers at a time when they are trying to persuade sceptics that a new generation of atomic plants can be delivered on time and on budget. The plant's closure would make it more likely that a 100-tonne stockpile of highly radioactive plutonium will be stored until the wider Sellafield site in Cumbria is shut, down, rather than turned into new fuel, say industry figures. The Mox plant was set up to manufacture new fuel from recycled plutonium and uranium on site.