Sellafield, former star of the nuclear age, scrubs up for a different future
by Adam Vaughan from on (#452GC)
When uranium was scarce, reprocessing was all the rage. Two decades on, the Cumbrian plant, though still a major source of jobs, has outlived its mission
Deep in the heart of Sellafield, Britain's biggest nuclear waste site, a small piece of history is playing out. Technicians are about to use a huge amount of force to slice nuclear fuel into thin sheets, so that it can be dissolved in nitric acid, then chemically separated into uranium (for power stations), plutonium (for bombs) and highly radioactive waste.
But first they face a computer-says-no moment. Taut minutes pass as on-screen red boxes indicate issues with the shearing machine, which is safely ensconced behind a metre of leaded glass. Finally, the boxes turn green.
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