Windscale: Britain's Biggest Nuclear Disaster

On the night of October 10, 1957 a fire broke out in Pile Number One at Windscale. The reactor had been loaded beyond its original design limit in order to provide materials for Britain's nuclear weapons programme.

Nuclear fuel cartridges caught fire, releasing contaminants into the atmosphere via the reactors air cooling system. As fire ripped through the pile, the staff at Windscale struggled to find a way to extinguish it and avert disaster, a situation no-one had ever faced before.





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Japanese to build £700m UK nuclear power plants: Hitachi deal will provide energy for 14m homes for 60 years
09:17 GMT, 30 October 2012 | Updated: 22:51 GMT, 30 October 2012
By James Chapman

Up to six new nuclear power reactors will power 14million homes for 60 years following a massive deal announced yesterday.

In the most significant boost yet for Government plans for a new network of atomic power stations, Japanese engineering giant Hitachi took on a project to construct plants in Wales and Gloucestershire.

The £700million deal will create 12,000 jobs for construction workers, engineers and other skilled employees, and spark a broader multi-billion-pound investment in the nuclear industry.

Read the full article here.