Wednesday 17 February 2010

More problems for Wylfa B

  
How Wylfa B could look

Another day, another obstacle in the way of the building of Wylfa B. Both the FT and the Times today report that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have registered its "most intense level of concern" regarding the design of the Toshiba-Westinghouse AP1000 - the nuclear reactor which Horizon Nuclear Power wants to build at Wylfa. The HSE is concerned that the design of AP1000 as it currently stands would not be strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a commercial airliner.

According to the Times, the HSE's letter states: 

"Toshiba-Westinghouse's proposed “modular” approach to construction, where large components are built off-site and then transported in for assembly, was not proven. It raised questions about the strength of the external fabric of the building, which uses a concrete and steel sandwich structure."

Its a bit of a revelation that large sections of the plant will be built off-site and then shipped in to Wylfa -- would that effect the projected 9,000 construction jobs which the government has at various times claimed would be created in Anglesey to build Wylfa B?

Anyway, Toshiba-Westinghouse has been given until October to reply to the HSE's concerns or there is a possibility that the design will not be licensed. Only after the HSE has granted it a reactor licence can Horizon Nuclear Power, the company that wants to build reactor in Wylfa, submit a proper planning application for the sites they have selected. The first concrete will not be poured before 2013.

Luckily for Albert Owen the fate of Wylfa B will not be settled before the election.
   

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Let's all hope Albert Owen will be history, soon,it's his ignorance and apathy that has led Anglesey to the abyss.