Sizewell B to stay for ten more years
SAFETY chiefs have announced they are happy for a Suffolk nuclear power station to operate for a further ten years, as long as it continues to meet performance guidelines.
SAFETY chiefs have announced they are happy for a Suffolk nuclear power station to operate for a further ten years, as long as it continues to meet performance guidelines.
The Health and Safety Executive said it would allow Sizewell B, near Leiston, to continue until September 30, 2015 subject to continued satisfactory safety performance.
The decision follows independent by HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of a Periodic Safety Review (PSR), submitted by the station licensee British Energy Generation Ltd.
Each nuclear licensee us required to undertake PSRs at ten year intervals as a condition attached to their nuclear site licenses.
These reviews complement the normal regulatory controls applied to nuclear power stations and provide the opportunity to undertake a comprehensive study of each plant's safety, taking into account operational history, ageing factors and advances in safety since construction.
The reviews are submitted to the NII for its consideration and assessment to evaluate whether an adequate level of safety has been achieved.
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In reaching their decision inspectors considered safety improvements already made at Sizewell B, together with a follow-up programme of work agreed with British Energy Generation Ltd.
The main elements of the follow-up programme, which form part of normal regulatory intervention, are maintenance of satisfactory progress on continuing improvements and demonstrating continued satisfactory results from the regular test and inspection programme that underpins the everyday operations on the station.
