Nuclear power station fire

Trawsfynydd is currently being decommissioned

A fire has broken out at the former Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in north Wales.

The site is currently in the process of being decomissioned.

According to Magnox BNFL, which controls the Trawsfynydd site, the fire is in the old reactor building and was started by a stray spark from a welding gun.

The company says the fire is not serious and that no radioactive material is involved.

However, there was a delay in tackling the fire because fire crews believe some live electrical cables were involved and took extra precautions.

The fire is now under control.

A spokesman for North Wales Fire Service said it was classed as an "on site incident" rather than a nuclear incident.

Electricity

Trawsfynydd was taken out of commission in 1993 with the last of the spent fuel being removed from the site two years later.

Magnox BNFL now wants to produce electicity at the site and at another former nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey.

The new owners will have to satisfy the Environment Agency before they can continue producing electricity.

The government has insisted that gaseous and liquid emissions from nuclear power stations require a specific licence from the Environment Agency.

Contamination

As part of their statutory requirement the agency will be holding public meetings in both the Trawsfynydd and Wylfa areas to gauge public feeling regarding emissions.

The meetings are expected to be held in June.

Last June, six workers at Trawsfynydd suffered internal radioactive contamination while cleaning a cooling pond.

Irradiated fuel was formerly stored in the area.