Delays force nuclear shutdown

The rods contain uranium

Bosses at the Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station are to shut down all the plant's reactors after they admitted an operation to recover radioactive fuel rods would take longer than previously thought.

British Nuclear Fuels, which operates the Dumfries and Galloway plant, insisted there was no threat to public safety.

Twenty four fuel rods fell from a machine in an accident nine days ago.

An inquiry is continuing to establish why the basket containing the rods fell during a routine refuelling operation.

The three other reactors, which have been working normally since the incident on 5 July, are to be shut down progressively.

Operation under way

A BNFL spokesman said: "Using remote cameras, the team has identified that 12 (fuel rods) are still in the discharge basket.

"Further inspections are being carried out this weekend to confirm the exact location of the other 12 which are believed to be contained inside the fuel discharge route.

"The company has now decided to progressively close the reactors down over the next few days so that all the station's resources can be concentrated on the fuel recovery programme."

Fuel rods are bars of uranium metal which are placed inside reactors as part of the nuclear fission process that generates heat and electricity.