§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total capital investment in the United Kingdom in the nuclear fuel cycle of enrichment, fuel fabrication, reprocessing in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976; and what is the estimated figure for 1977.
§ Mr. EadieI am advised that the total capital investment in the United Kingdom in the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment, in these years is as follows:
Subsequent inspection showed heavy deposits of salt on the periphery of the floor of the pressure vessel underneath the boilers. The salt water had been prevented by a baffle from passing under the reactor core and samples taken from other parts of the gas path have not indicated significant salt pollution elsewhere. The South of Scotland Electricity Board has instituted a board of inquiry into the cause of the incident. It has not yet completed its report, but I am advised by SSEB that the indications are that, once the salt has been removed, the reactor can be returned to full-load operation. It is not yet clear, however, whether the salt can be removed by water washing 319W or whether it will be necessary to replace part of the insulation, in which case remedial work could take up to 12 months and cost £3 million. The board is also incurring additional costs while the reactor is out of service in supplying electricity generated more expensively by other stations.
SSEB has assured me that the incident does not reflect on the design, safety or operational characteristics of the AGR system and that there was no radiological hazard either at the time of the incident or subsequently. The second reactor at Hunterston B continues to operate normally.