Hinkley Point A
time of SRP ’ s foundation and a further seven were connected to the grid between 1964 and 1971 . Seven second-generation Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor ( AGR ) power stations were opened between 1976 and 1988 , and the UK ’ s only civil power Pressurised Water Reactor ( PWR ) to date , at Sizewell B , began operation in 1995 . At the peak in 1997 , 26 % of the nation ' s electricity was generated from nuclear power .
The growth in nuclear power in the 1960s and ‘ 70s was accompanied by the expansion of reprocessing activities at Sellafield site . Following commissioning of the Magnox Reprocessing Plant in 1964 , the Government saw a significant commercial opportunity to sell fuel cycle services internationally . British Nuclear Fuels Ltd ( BNFL ) was established for this purpose in 1971 and construction of the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant ( THORP ) began in 1979 .
With the older Magnox stations approaching the end of their operational lives , preparations for the privatisation of electricity generation in the 1980s threw focus on the issue of decommissioning .
Berkeley was the first Magnox station to be retired in 1989 and in 2005 the Government set up the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority ( NDA ) to oversee the decommissioning of all legacy civil nuclear facilities . The last operational Magnox station ( Wylfa ) shut down in 2015 and three of the AGR stations have also ceased operation since 2021 . The remaining four AGR stations are all due to close by 2028 . Commercial reprocessing at THORP ended in 2018 . Magnox fuel reprocessing ended in 2022 , meaning both reprocessing facilities on the Sellafield site are now preparing for decommissioning .
The new millennium saw a worldwide renaissance of interest in nuclear power , and a third generation nuclear power station is currently under construction at Hinkley Point C with another ( Sizewell C ) due to commence in 2024 .
Big Carl , the world ' s largest crane , lifting the pictured 304-tonne steel liner ring onto the first reactor building at Hinkley Point C
However , plans for other nuclear new build projects in the UK have failed due to the high capital cost and political issues . Government policy is now to facilitate the construction of Small Modular Reactors ( SMRs ) and to have a fourth-generation Advanced Modular Reactor ( AMR ) demonstrator in operation by the mid- 2030s . Meanwhile , UKAEA is in the first phase of a programme to build a demonstration fusion energy facility ( Spherical Tokomak for Energy Production , STEP ) in Nottinghamshire . STEP aims to demonstrate the ability to generate net electricity from nuclear fusion on a commercial scale and is planned to be operational around 2040 .
Radioactive Substances The year of SRP ’ s foundation coincided with implementation of the first comprehensive controls on the use of radioactive substances under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 . This , and subsequent legislation , has resulted in a substantial reduction in the use of radioactive materials in the public domain , such as ending the use of radium to luminise clocks and watches . However , some applications of radioactive substances are justified and have increased , such as the now ubiquitous use of Am-241 in smoke alarms . Modern smoke alarm
6 Radiation Protection Today www . srp-rpt . uk