Safety fears for new Bradwell build will be resolved (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)

Safety fears for new Bradwell build will be resolved

3:10pm Wednesday 13th May 2009

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SAFETY fears surrounding construction of a new nuclear power station at Bradwell will be ironed out by the time plans are given the go ahead.

Concerns emerged for a new build in the village after recently leaked documents from the Finnish nuclear safety agency (STUK) showed problems with the design of important safety systems, and a lack of co-operation in resolving these concerns at a site in Finland.

The Government recently accepted nominations for Bradwell, along with other locations, as sites for potential new nuclear development.

Some of these new stations are likely to built by French company, Areva, who are currently building the new development at Olkiluoto, Finland.

In the documents, Jukka Laaksonen, director general of STUK, said : “The attitude or lack of professional knowledge (of representatives of Areva) prevent progress in resolving the concerns.

“Therefore, evident design errors are not corrected.”

Martin Adeney, spokesman for Areva, said the issues raised related to the automation design, not general safety, and a team of experts revised some documents, which have since been approved by its Finnish customer.

He said: “It’s not clear what will be built at Bradwell or when, if it is the Areva EPR (reactor) at least two more would have been built - one in Finland, one in France - so any questions about the early design will have been resolved.”

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