From Alan Hughes, British Nuclear Fuels
Rob Edwards’s article on the nuclear waste reprocessor at Sellafield was
misleading and lacked balance
(This Week, 20 June, p 13). The vitrification
plant, which converts liquid waste into safer glass blocks, has experienced
reliability problems in the past, but these have now been addressed and its
performance has improved dramatically. The reliability of the vitrification
melters has been doubled, plant throughput has increased threefold, and the
total amount of waste awaiting vitrification has been reduced by 200 cubic
metres in the past three years.
These improvements, along with the addition of a third vitrification line in
2000, gives us every confidence that this total will continue to decrease
quickly and in line with the requirements of the Nuclear Installations
Inspectorate. It has confirmed to British Nuclear Fuels that they are not
dissatisfied with the progress that we are making.
Warrington, Cheshire
