Nuclear power in Europe

LONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - British Energy's Heysham 2-7 nuclear power reactor was running at about a third of its capacity on Wednesday after output was cut for planned refuelling, a spokesman for the plant said.

'It is low power refuelling,' he said, without giving any indication how long the 625-megawatt reactor would have to remain at reduced output.

Bidders interested in buying the Government's share in the uranium company Urenco have contacted its former chairman about forming a consortium to table an offer for the stake which could be worth up to £4bn.

Neville Chamberlain, who was chairman of Urenco from 2002 to 2005, said: "I have had discussions with various potential bidders." He added: "I would not be surprised if a bid emerged."
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Green campaigners have expressed concern that the Government's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is using the same lobbying consultancy as a firm that often bids for major nuclear decommissioning contracts.

The NDA is charged with cleaning up the UK's nuclear waste - and in particular with decommissioning the Sellafield site. It has employed Bell Pottinger Public Affairs (BPPA) since 2005.

For the first time since a fire 50 years ago, engineers have taken a look inside the Windscale Pile 1 reactor at the Sellafield nuclear plant.

The decommissioning team looked inside the affected area with an endoscope to take pictures from the core, allowing for the removal of the remaining fuel and isotopes in the reactor pile.

In 1957 one of the two reactor piles caught fire and caused Britain's worst nuclear accident, releasing masses of radiation into the countryside.