SIR - Malcolm Lynden may have faith in the nuclear industry and its safety regulator (Gazette, January 28) but neither of these bodies will explain openly to an interested public what the implications are of significant deterioration inside an ageing nuclear reactor.
BNFL's stated concern has been its loss of revenue and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate operates quietly behind the scenes, publishing brief technical reviews months in arrears. So the Gazette is right to highlight what is happening at Oldbury.
The inspectors will have been anxious that the acknowledged graphite core depletion will not allow the slightest structural movement which may trap fuel rods, creating overheating which could escalate, allowing widespread contamination. They have already said it could affect the safety of reactor operations. They are all too conscious that very much newer graphite reactors at Hartlepool and Torness have developed cracks in their reactor bricks. The operators have said they may need to close early as a consequence.
But as a prototype, Oldbury is older than these second generation plants and has been shown to have the worst graphite problem of the first generation reactors. So final shut-down for Oldbury will have been very much on the c ards by the inspectors. As it emerges that a turbine has also been out of commission with significant cracks for six months, and reactor two suffers repeated safety gliches, Oldbury's credibility plummets.
As one nuclear inspector said, "when does a reactor go from being safe to unsafe?" At the end of the lives of these impenetrable radioactive systems, there is much uncertainty. Better safe than sorry.
For Mr Lynden's information, our group is not politically alligned.
Jim Duffy Shut Oldbury Campaign Stop Hinkley
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