Difference between revisions of "British Nuclear Group"

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==Background==
 
==Background==
  
British Nuclear Fuels plc is an UK government-owned international company involved in all stages of the nuclear process, from designing reactors and manufacturing fuel, to decommissioning reactors and dealing with radioactive waste.
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British Nuclear Group, part of [[BNFL]], specialises in the management and clean-up of nuclear sites. It employs some 14,000 people and is responsible for plants in the UK, Bulgaria, Italy, Russia, Sweden and the US – including the notorious Sellafield site in northern England.
  
It was set up by the government in 1971 as a spin-off of the [[UKAEA]]. Since 2005, it has been a holding company for [[British Nuclear Group]], [[Nexia Solutions]] and [[Westinghouse]].  
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==Sellafield==
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Sellafield is a two square mile site on the West Cumbrian coast just north of the village of Seascale. BNFL says it ‘represents the most challenging nuclear site management programme in the world’.
  
[[Richard Nathan]] - Energy Unit at BNFL
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It is owned by the [[Nuclear Decommissioning Authority]] but managed by British Nuclear Group. The site is home to the Thorp and Magnox reprocessing plants, the Sellafield Mixed Oxide Fuel manufacturing plant and a range of waste management and effluent treatment facilities. More than 200 nuclear facilities are located at Sellafield.
  
==Sell Off==
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==Leaks, accidents and incidents==
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Sellafield has been the site of numerous nuclear leaks, most recently a leak at the Thorpe plant. According to The Guardian, workers ignored more than 100 warnings over six weeks that it had sprung a leak. [http://www.britishnucleargroup.com/content.php?pageID=31&nID=744] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/nuclear/article/0,,1529690,00.html]
  
In 20005 BNFL’s chairman predicted that BNFL was unlikely to exist within five years. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml;jsessionid=4SFZAHQ3FSF4XQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/money/2005/12/06/cnbnfl06.xml]
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One of the most notable incidents came in 1999, when BNFL admitted falsifying documents relating to uranium and plutonium mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel destined for Japan. The scandal was a major embarrassment for BNFL. Japan refused to accept a shipment of the fuel that was already en-route, which meant it had to be returned to Sellafield. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,271468,00.html]
  
In February 2006, BNFL sold its US nuclear clean-up division, BNG America, for £51m ($91m) to the Utah-based company Energy Solutions.
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The government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment has consistently denied any link between Sellafield and a nearby cluster of childhood leukaemia. [http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1698832,00.html]
  
The deal quickly followed BNFL's sale of its U.S. power plant arm Westinghouse to the Japanese electronic giant Toshiba for the sum of $5.4bn (£3.1bn). Westinghouse controls Britain's only nuclear fuel manufacturing site, Springfield Fuels. [http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1703700,00.html]
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==Who runs British Nuclear Group?==
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* Lawrie Haynes, CEO
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* Brian Tenner, finance director
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* Barry Snelson, managing director of Sellafield
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* Mark Morant, managing director of reactor sites
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* Paul Hamer, mamaging director of project services
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* Philip Strawbridge, managing director of BNG America
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* Rob Meakin, human resources director
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* Roger Coates, environment health and safety director
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* Paul Vallance, communications director
  
BNFL's ultimate plan is said to include selling off the British Nuclear Group, leaving it with a stake in the uranium-enrichment firm [[Urenco]] and research firm [[Nexia Solutions]]. A decision will be taken at the end of March by Ministers.
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==UK sites==
[http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-02-03T091421Z_01_L03691170_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ENERGY-BNFL.xml]
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* Berkeley (being decommissioned)
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4676466.stm]
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* Bradwell (being decommissioned)
 
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* Calder Hall (being decommissioned)
==Closing Down the Debate==
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* Capenhurst (being decommissioned)
 
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* Chapelcross (being decommissioned)
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that BNFL "wants to restrict the scope of local planning inquiries", according to ''The Guardian'' newspaper. Issues such as safety, security and environmental impact would not be discussed at public inquiries, as happens now, but behind closed doors.
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* Dungeness A (in operation but due for closure in 2006)
 
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* Hinkley Point A (being decommissioned)
The documemts show that BNFL believes the only way to guarantee that new power stations open on schedule is to fast-track the planning process by pre-licensing reactors before sites are selected. "Investment in this phase has immense leverage over subsequent phases" say the documents. "For example, it should enable a public inquiry to be assured that all safety and environmental issues have been satisfactorily addressed, enabling it to focus on local issues." [http://www.guardian.co.uk/nuclear/article/0,,1691749,00.html]
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* Hunterston A (being decommissioned)
 
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* Littlebrook (research and test facility in Dartford, Kent)
==PR and lobbying firms==
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* Low-level waste repository (UK's national waste repository, at Drigg in Cumbria)
 
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* Oldbury (in operation but due for closure in 2008)
BNFL is working hard to reposition nuclear power as a green fuel. As the Government’s Energy Review was launched, BNFL Chairman Gordon Campbell stated: “Old prejudices about the cost of nuclear power, the handling of waste, and safety concerns need to be reviewed objectively and set against the world’s desire to reduce carbon dioxide emissions�. [http://www.bnfl.com/content.php?pageID=77]
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* Sellafield (comprises more than 200 nuclear facilities)
 
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* Sizewell A (in operation but due for closure in 2006)
*[[Weber Shandwick]] provided ‘consultancy services’ for BNFL during 2005. [http://www.appc.org.uk] The Director of Group Corporate Affairs at BNFL [[Philip Dewhurst]] was [[Weber Shandwick]] Worldwide's UK chief executive
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* Trawsfynydd (being decommissioned)
 
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* Wylfa (in operation but due for closure in 2006)
*[[Finsbury]]
 
*[[Fells Associates]]
 
 
 
 
 
==BNFL Scoops Gold at PR Event==
 
 
 
BNFL won Gold at the 2005 North West Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Pride awards in Manchester for its "Taking the Time to Listen and Act" PR campaign. The stakeholder dialogue campaign was designed to "address international concern regarding discharges of Technetium 99 from Sellafield".
 
[http://www.britishnucleargroup.com/content.php?pageID=33&nID=698]
 
 
 
==Who runs BNFL?==
 
Gordon Campbell, Chairman – also part-time Chairman of defence firm Babcock International Group and a former Chief Executive of Courtaulds. He is also Vice-President of the pro-nuclear [[Royal Academy of Engineering]] and a visiting professor at Strathclyde University.
 
 
 
Michael Parker, Chief Executive – a director of the President controversial chemical company Dow, having been its Chief Executive Officer from November 2000 to December 2002. He is also a Director of the ExxonMobil-funded climate-change skeptic organisation the National Legal Center for Public Interest in America. [http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=57]
 
 
 
David Bonser, BNFL ALFA Director - joined BNFL in 1971. He is a member of the Government’s Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and was Chairman of UK [[Nirex]] until December 2001.
 
 
 
John Edwards, Group Finance Director – the former finance director of Jaguar, Northern Electric and Meyer International plc, he is now Chairman of [[Magnox Electric]] plc.
 
 
 
Lawrie Haynes, non-executive director – Haynes is CEO of British Nuclear Group Limited.
 
 
 
Joe Darby, non-executive director – Darby is a non-executive director of John Mowlem & Company plc, the UK construction services company, which has interests in the nuclear industry. Formerly deputy chairman of oil firm LASMO plc.
 
 
 
Bill Lowther CBE, non-executive director – former director general of UCB Films plc.
 
 
 
Michael Pavia, non-executive director – former Chief Financial Officer of [[EDF]] Energy plc, Finance Director of SEEBOARD plc and Finance Director of oil firm LASMO.
 
 
 
 
 
==Pro-Nuke Media Training==
 
 
 
In June
 
Belinda
 

Revision as of 11:28, 15 February 2006

Background

British Nuclear Group, part of BNFL, specialises in the management and clean-up of nuclear sites. It employs some 14,000 people and is responsible for plants in the UK, Bulgaria, Italy, Russia, Sweden and the US – including the notorious Sellafield site in northern England.

Sellafield

Sellafield is a two square mile site on the West Cumbrian coast just north of the village of Seascale. BNFL says it ‘represents the most challenging nuclear site management programme in the world’.

It is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority but managed by British Nuclear Group. The site is home to the Thorp and Magnox reprocessing plants, the Sellafield Mixed Oxide Fuel manufacturing plant and a range of waste management and effluent treatment facilities. More than 200 nuclear facilities are located at Sellafield.

Leaks, accidents and incidents

Sellafield has been the site of numerous nuclear leaks, most recently a leak at the Thorpe plant. According to The Guardian, workers ignored more than 100 warnings over six weeks that it had sprung a leak. [1] [2]

One of the most notable incidents came in 1999, when BNFL admitted falsifying documents relating to uranium and plutonium mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel destined for Japan. The scandal was a major embarrassment for BNFL. Japan refused to accept a shipment of the fuel that was already en-route, which meant it had to be returned to Sellafield. [3]

The government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment has consistently denied any link between Sellafield and a nearby cluster of childhood leukaemia. [4]

Who runs British Nuclear Group?

  • Lawrie Haynes, CEO
  • Brian Tenner, finance director
  • Barry Snelson, managing director of Sellafield
  • Mark Morant, managing director of reactor sites
  • Paul Hamer, mamaging director of project services
  • Philip Strawbridge, managing director of BNG America
  • Rob Meakin, human resources director
  • Roger Coates, environment health and safety director
  • Paul Vallance, communications director

UK sites

  • Berkeley (being decommissioned)
  • Bradwell (being decommissioned)
  • Calder Hall (being decommissioned)
  • Capenhurst (being decommissioned)
  • Chapelcross (being decommissioned)
  • Dungeness A (in operation but due for closure in 2006)
  • Hinkley Point A (being decommissioned)
  • Hunterston A (being decommissioned)
  • Littlebrook (research and test facility in Dartford, Kent)
  • Low-level waste repository (UK's national waste repository, at Drigg in Cumbria)
  • Oldbury (in operation but due for closure in 2008)
  • Sellafield (comprises more than 200 nuclear facilities)
  • Sizewell A (in operation but due for closure in 2006)
  • Trawsfynydd (being decommissioned)
  • Wylfa (in operation but due for closure in 2006)