Hunterston nuclear reactor shutdown

Only a month after Hunterston Nuclear reactor was allowed to restart after repairs to cracked pipes the Ayrshire nuclear reactor has had to be shut down again after potential problems with its temperature controls were discovered by engineers.

An investigation is now reported to be under way at the Hunterston nuclear power station in Ayrshire to try to discover what caused the fault that led to Sunday's shutdown.

Like many of the UK's nuclear reactors Hunterston is ageing and reaching the end of its planned life. As a consequence it seems like that intermittent problems will continue to dog this plant in the future until it is either taken out of commission or massively overhauled.

For Ayrshire residents (and those further afield) the main concern must be with safety. Just how potentially critical are the types of faults which are beginning to be found with this nuclear plant? What does this tell us about the overall risks associated with this ageing plant?

Of course the operators and other bodies are likely to be quick to reassure us that all is well and that these types of faults would have no chance of causing major incidents. The problem is that given the nuclear industries fast and loose approach to telling the truth in the past this will not be a great re-assurance to the Ayrshire public.