UK nuclear fuel site faces 2018 closure

The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) at Sellafield in the UK will close in 2018, according to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The plant takes ‘spent’ nuclear fuel – specifically oxide fuels from British advanced gas cooled reactors and light water reactors – and after a lot of treatment pulls out the uranium and plutonium for reuse.

Trade union Prospect expressed disappointment: ‘The closure will see a reduction in the numbers employed on the plant once operations cease, with only a fraction of the existing staff remaining during the clean-out phase prior to decommissioning,’ said national secretary Mike Graham. According to the BBC, Sellafield employs 800 people at Thorp, most of whom should be redeployed within the site.