SOMERSET residents are being asked for their views on how their previous nuclear power station nuclear power station should be safely decommissioned.

The Hinkley Point B facility, near Stogursey, ceased operations on August 1, 2022, having generated power continuously since being commissioned in 1976.

EDF Energy, which owns the facility (and is currently constructing its replacement, Hinkley Point C), has applied to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) for formal permission to decommission the B site.

Somerset residents now have three months to give their views on the matter – with any decommissioning not expected to get under way until mid-2025 at the earliest.

The proposals envision Hinkley Point B being decommissioned and dismantled in three phases – though it could take nearly 100 years for all re-mediation to be completed.

The first phase (which will last until 2038) includes the dismantling of all buildings and plant materials except for the site’s ‘safestore’ structure, which will be used to store and manage the residential nuclear waste from the power station.

The second phase (known technically as ‘quiescence’, meaning inactivity or dormancy) will see “a period of relative inactivity” of up to 70 years from 2039, to allow for the radioactive materials within the safestore to safely decay.

While physical activity within the site will be minimal during this phase, the former power station will remain under close surveillance with “periodic maintenance interventions” to prevent any risk to health or national security.

The third and final phase will see the former reactor and debris vaults being dismantled and removed and any final landscaping work being completed – with EDF estimating that this will be finished by 2118.

Residents wishing to take part in the consultation should send their comments either via email to [email protected] or by post to SDFW Division, Nuclear Liabilities Team, Office for Nuclear Regulation, Building 4, Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, L20 7HS.

All emails or postal correspondence should include ‘consultation for Hinkley Point B EIADR application for consent’ within the subject matter.

The consultation will be open until December 9, with the ONR expected to public its formal response in early-2025.