Hunterston (UK) nuclear station's cracks 'a threat to safety'

[jpak]

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1588242006

IMMINENT cracking in the Hunterston nuclear station will affect its ability to operate safely, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has warned.

Its assessment of the Ayrshire plant and its twin, the Hinkley Point station, raised concerns about the safe running of Britain's ageing nuclear reactors.

Just one of British Energy's eight nuclear stations was fully operational last week.

"The majority of fuel moderator bricks will develop a single through-thickness crack," the inspectorate's report said.

Further cracks could split the bricks in half.

<more>