Published 6 March 2019
Last updated 9 October 2019 + show all updates
Reaching the end of defuelling is a huge achievement for the twin-reactor site and its staff, who have worked tirelessly to remove the 87,890 fuel elements from the site in Anglesey, North Wales. The elements, which measure 43 inches in length, would stretch for 17-and-a-half miles if placed end to end.
The final shipment marks the end of an era for both the site, meaning that more than 99% of the total radioactivity has now been removed, as well as for Magnox, the company.
The last shipment arriving at the Sellafield site
Stuart Law, Wylfa Site Director, said:
I am extremely proud of the whole team for working together to reach this important milestone in record time. It has not been an easy task and the work at Wylfa is far from complete, but today is a significant landmark in the site’s journey towards care and maintenance.
The defuelling process was hampered by ageing equipment for the first 18 months which brought challenges, but the dedication and problem-solving abilities of the Wylfa team and expertise drawn from across the nuclear industry led to what is, overall, an incredible performance in completing this task.
We have always been grateful of the support given to the site from the local community, and we hope the important part the site plays in the area can continue as we move towards becoming singularly focused on decommissioning and hazard reduction.
Wylfa Site, the biggest and last Magnox site to be built in the UK, operated safely from 1972 until 2015 and generated 232 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity – enough to power 1.1 million homes per year for 44 years.
This achievement enables Wylfa to move into its decommissioning phase, and allows Magnox and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), who owns the site, to progress the clean-up of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy safely, securely and cost-effectively.
Gwen Parry-Jones, Magnox CEO, added:
I have been extremely impressed by the innovation, hard work and commitment of the team to safely reach such an important milestone in the life-cycle of the plant.
As the final Magnox site to defuel, this marks a significant landmark for Magnox as a whole in carrying out our mission to safely decommission our fleet and marks a new focus on the next phase for the whole company.
Staff were joined by representatives from across the NDA Group to see the last flask depart to Valley railhead.
Chris Connelly, Chief Operating Officer, Direct Rail Services, (DRS) commented:
DRS has worked closely with Magnox since 1999 transporting flasks loaded with spent fuel from Magnox sites to Sellafield for reprocessing. Over the years, DRS has safely and securely travelled over three million miles delivering over 9,000 tonnes of spent fuel on behalf of Magnox.
We have developed an excellent working relationship with Magnox and tailored a flexible rail solution to ensure their defuelling demand for transport has been met.
On behalf of the DRS team I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Magnox on the successful end to their defuelling operations and we look forward to supporting them in the future with decommissioning activities.
Wylfa Site will now refocus its highly skilled team on decommissioning activities, including a mix of conventional and radiological projects to further reduce hazards on site.
Wylfa was the last and largest of the UK’s Magnox nuclear power stations – the first type of commercial nuclear power station – and ended operations in 2015, after 44 years of safely generating low-carbon electricity.
Sellafield’s own nuclear power station and the world’s first commercial plant, Calder Hall, also completed its defueling programme earlier this month.
Removal of all the nuclear fuel from a site is one of the main pieces of hazard reduction work and accounts for over 99% of the radioactivity. The completion of defueling is a huge stride towards the end of all nuclear fuel reprocessing at Sellafield – scheduled for 2020.
87,890 nuclear fuel elements have been removed from Wylfa’s twin reactors since it ended generation.
NDA Chief Executive, David Peattie, said:
This is a major decommissioning milestone and a clear demonstration that we are making progress in dealing with the UK’s civil nuclear legacy.
The successful completion of the Magnox defueling programme is testament to the hard work and commitment of the highly skilled workforce across the whole of the NDA group. I’d like to thank everyone for their unwavering focus on completing the work on time, and with the highest regard for safety.
Wylfa will now join the rest of the Magnox sites in becoming wholly focused on decommissioning and clean-up.
Gwen Parry-Jones OBE, Magnox Ltd CEO, added:
I have been extremely impressed by the innovation, hard work and commitment of the team to safely reach such an important milestone in the life cycle of the plant.
As the final Magnox site to defuel, this marks a significant landmark for Magnox Limited as a whole in carrying out our mission to safely decommission our fleet and marks a new focus on the next phase for the whole company.
The first release of the Statistical Data Return 2018-2019 published today (19 September 2019) by the Regulator of Social Housing reports a rise in social housing stock owned or managed by private registered providers of social housing in England.
This year’s SDR results are being made available in three releases phased over the next few weeks. The changes follow a call for user views between May and July 2019 about proposals to make the publication of the data more timely and more accessible. The set of National Statistics includes a range of briefing notes, look-up tools and accompanying documents.
This first release, which is significantly earlier than the corresponding information released last year, focuses on the social housing stock at 31 March 2019, as well as examining changes to stock owned in the sector since 2012.
Key points include:
Private registered providers of social housing reported owning 2,995,569 units/bedspaces on 31 March 2019 (including social and non-social tenures) – a 2% increase since 31 March 2018.
85 % of stock owned by PRPs on 31 March 2019 was low cost rental stock (2,567,063 units/ bedspaces)
There were 20,900 more low cost rental (including Affordable Rent) units/bedspaces on 31 March 2019 than on 31 March 2018 (a 1% increase since 2018). This overall increase was driven by an 11% increase in Affordable Rent units
An additional 11,299 units/bedspaces of low cost home ownership were reported as owned by PRPs on 31 March 2019 compared to 2018 (an increase of 6%). The rate of increase in LCHO has been speeding up since 2017.
Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH said:
The first release of this year’s Statistical Data Return, demonstrates how the social housing sector continues to change and grow. We hope that the data, now in a new format, is more accessible and continues to support our stakeholders in understanding key trends in the sector. We welcome feedback on how we can make further improvements.
The SDR is collated from annual returns submitted by PRPs in England. The regulator collects data on stock type, size, rent and location of social housing stock at 31 March each year, and data on sales and acquisitions made between 1 April and 31 March. The information is used to inform its risk-based and proportionate approach to regulation and to help a range of stakeholders better understand the housing association market.
The first release of the SDR is now available on the RSH website.
The second release focusing on PRP rents will be published on 26 September 2019.
The final release providing all SDR data will be published on 10 October 2019 and will include look-up tools providing easy access to the SDR data at a PRP and local authority level.
For press office contact details, see our Media enquiries page. For general queries, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.
The Regulator’s Statistical Data Returns are available on the RSH website.
A total of 1,409 providers completed this year’s Return – there was an overall response rate of 96% for the 2018-19 SDR, while 100% of large registered providers who own 1,000 or more units/ bedspaces (including Affordable Rent units) completed the return.
The response to the Call for user views on the SDR was published in August 2019.
Figures do not include non-social housing units built by unregistered entities within PRP groups, which are outside the scope of the SDR.
RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants. For more information visit the RSH website.
Robert’s parents, Rosemary and Nicholas Frome, wished to publicly thank all those who contributed to the difficult task of locating and recovering their son’s body: the Hellenic Police in Ioannina and Konitsa, the Konitsa Fire Brigade, the first, fifth and eighth Special Disaster Units (EMAK), the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, the Hellenic Navy, Geotech SpA and all the volunteers.
Young UK national, Robert Frome, was found on a steep ravine near the Astraka peak in Papigo.
His parents write:
Although we would not otherwise wish to make comment on our son Robert’s tragic accident, we do wish to express our profound gratitude and appreciation for the efforts made by the Greek police (especially the teams based in Ioannina and Konitsa ); the various professional and volunteer rescue organisations and a great number of additional volunteers, first to find Robert, and then to bring him down from such a difficult place on the Astraka mountain. We have been completely overwhelmed and humbled by the commitment made to this operation in Greece.
We also wish to express our thanks to the British Embassy in Athens and to our local police for their assistance and support during this ordeal.
Nicholas and Rosemary Frome
16/9/2019
Published 19 September 2019