Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
2/14/2014
The United Kingdom’s Office of Nuclear Regulation last week granted permission to Magnox Limited to move ahead with the decommissioning of its Wylfa nuclear power station. Originally, Magnox had planned on beginning decommissioning in 2009, but an opportunity arose to transfer fuel from one reactor to another that extended the life of the reactor by another five years. Because Magnox had already submitted a decommissioning plan five years ago, the company had to re-submit the plan after the original consent expired. “ONR took relevant factors into account when reaching its decision to grant consent,” the ONR report said. “In brief, these were: the adequacy of the information provided in the environmental statement; the conclusion that environmental benefits would far outweigh detriments; the prediction that there would be no significant effects on the environments of other countries; and the recognition that some issues would be adequately covered elsewhere, such as through other regulatory regimes. The assessment gave ONR the confidence to issue consent for the project on Sept. 25, 2013,” the report said.
The ONR consent also came with the stipulation that Magnox provides an environmental report every year on the effects of the decommissioning. “The conditions attached to the Consent relate to mitigation measures to prevent, reduce and, if possible, offset adverse environmental effects of the project,” the ONR report said. “In brief, Magnox Ltd must prepare an annual environmental management plan (EMP) that identifies mitigation measures, reports on their implementation, effectiveness, progress of the decommissioning work and reports on changes to such measures in light of experience.” Magnox plans to begin active decommissioning of the plant in 2018, according to Magnox spokesman Lowri Joyce.
