End of Era for Bradwell Power Station

Bradwell Nuclear Power Station, one of the UK’s earliest nuclear sites located by the River Blackwater, Essex, has officially announced its finished process of treating radioactive waste which puts it one step closer toward the site’s planning closure.

With over 980 workers being on the site while decommissioning takes place, Bradwell Power Station has provided some significant employment opportunities for the local community.

The power station started generating electricity in December 1957, and formally ended its operation in March 2002. During its lifetime, the site generated nearly 60 TWf of electricity.  The decommissioning stage, announced on 28 March 2002 by Lord Braybrooke, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, is due to being completed at the end of this year.

Magnox Ltd – a nuclear decommissioning Site Licence Company, owned by Cavendish Flour Partnership, is responsible for an accelerated decommissioning programme that is being carried out on the site. 

What happens next?

But does the decommissioning mean an end for Bradwell Power Station? Apparently not, as long-term industrial partners The China General Nuclear (CGN) Power Group and EDF Energy intend to develop a new nuclear power station using a new round of nuclear reactors. According to the Bradwell B Project website, the providers are already in process of carrying out essential technical assessment work in order to inform their emerging proposals.

Although the Bradwell B project is still a subject to regulatory approval, CGN has already completed the dome-lift at the Fangchenggang nuclear station in Guangxi Province, which is a significant point in construction as it ensures the integrity and sealing of the reactor building.

Ensuring safety

Bradwell was the first nuclear power station to be closed on a planned basis in 2002 after over 40 years of operation. To ensure continued public safety and reassurance, the decommissioning stage had to last for at least several decades.

The Health and Safety Executives who are in charge of regulating all aspects of nuclear safety on those sites, regularly inspect the nuclear power station, while the Environment Agency (EA) oversees how the site disposes of the radioactive waste by granting site authorisations to the operators who run them.

These authorisations set out limits and conditions on the amount and way they dispose of their waste and cover all radioactive waste disposals including discharges to air and water, and transfers of wastes for incineration or disposal to land.

To facilitate meeting the EA’s requirements, Bradwell Power Station employed Autoscribe Matrix LIMS Rutherford configuration. The system has been specially designed for the nuclear industry to track hazardous waste and instantly report to the authorities when necessary to ensure people’s safety.