Oldbury nuclear power station

Oldbury nuclear power station is a nuclear power station located on the south bank of the River Severn close to the village of Oldbury-on-Severn in South Gloucestershire, England. It is operated by British Nuclear Group, a subsidiary of BNFL.

Opened in 1967, Oldbury has two Magnox reactors producing 435 MW of electricity, enough to power a city 1.5 times the size of nearby Bristol. The power station is due to cease operation in 2008, with decommissioning due to begin in 2009.

Oldbury is one of four stations located close to the mouth of the River Severn and the Bristol Channel, the others being Berkeley, Hinkley Point A and Hinkley Point B.

E.ON is considering plans to build a new nuclear power station at the site. [cite news|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article4727457.ece|title=E.ON to build £4bn British nuclear power station|author=Robin Pagnamenta|work=The Times|date=September 11, 2008|accessdate=2008-09-15]

Incidents

On 30 May 2007, only a few days after reopening after safety checks, the power station was shut down as part of standard emergency procedure when a fire broke out on one of the generator transformer HV bushings. No-one was injured in the fire and no radiation was released. The fire is thought to have been an accident. Information suggests an insulator overheated causing it to fail. Minor damage ensued resulting in a standard shutdown. This area is a significant distance from any reactor or material that could be considered any risk. All emergency procedures were commenced and by 11:30am the situation was stabilised. [cite news | title= Nuclear reactor set to re-start | date= 18 May 2007 | work= BBC News | accessdate= 2007-05-30 | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6669703.stm ] [cite news | title= Fire closes nuclear power station | date= 30 May 2007 | work= BBC News | accessdate= 2007-05-30 | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6705243.stm ] The power station resumed production for a few days in June then shut down again. Production eventually resumed on 24 August 2007, at which point it had only produced electricity for eight days since August 2006. [cite news | title= Power is back on at nuclear plant | date= 24 August 2007 | work= BBC News | accessdate= 2007-08-24 | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6962494.stm ]

The power station has featured in a number of doomsday prophecies believing that it will ultimately meltdownFact|date=September 2008. It also appeared in several episodes of "Blake's Seven" and the 1976 "Doctor Who" serial The Hand of Fear, where the power station it was portraying was nearly destroyed.

The power station silt lagoons

The silt lagoons at Oldbury power station are used as a high tide roosting site by birds which feed on the Severn Estuary. Between 1979 and 2005, 199 bird species were recorded at the site.Middleton, A. J., D. H. Payne and J. D. R. Vernon (2007) The Birds of Olbury Power Station Silt Lagoons "Bristol Ornithology" 28: 3-40] This included a number of vagrants: a Green-winged Teal in January 2001, a Ring-necked Duck in April and May 2000, a Black-winged Stilt in May 1997, a Kentish Plover in August 1993, a Semipalmated Sandpiper in August 1990, a Temminck's Stint in April 1984, a Pectoral Sandpiper in September 1989, a Broad-billed Sandpiper in August 1983, a Ring-billed Gull in October 1994, and a Richard's Pipit in October 1996.

ee also

*Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
*Energy policy of the United Kingdom
*Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom

References

External links

* [http://www.britishnucleargroup.com/content.php?pageID=186&opID=192 British Nuclear Group - Oldbury]
* [http://www.nda.gov.uk/sites/oldbury/ Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - Oldbury]
* [http://www.sitestakeholdergroups.org.uk/oldbury/ Oldbury Site Stakeholder Group]