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Sellafield
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Sellafield

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Also known as Sellafield (United Kingdom), Sellafield nuclear site

Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuclear power generation from 1956 to 2003, and nuclear fuel reprocessing from 1952 to 2022.

Key facts

Power station.name
Sellafield nuclear site
Power station.name_official
Sellafield Site. Known 1956-1971 as Windscale & Calder Works, known 1947-1956 as Windscale Works.
Power station.image
File:Aerial view Sellafield, Cumbria - geograph.org.uk - 50827.jpg
Power station.image_caption
2005 view of the site
Power station.country
England
Power station.location
Seascale, Cumbria
Power station.status
Decommissioning in progress
Power station.owner
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Power station.operator
Sellafield Ltd
Power station.employees
10,000+
Power station.np_reactor_type
Magnox (Calder Hall) AGR prototype (Windscale)
Power station.commissioned
Windscale Piles (non-power generating): 1950 Calder Hall: 1956 Windscale AGR: 1962
Power station.ps_units_decommissioned
Units taken out of service: Calder Hall: 4 x 60MWe (gross) Windscale AGR: 1 x 36MWe.Final decommissioning for complete site 2120
Power station.ps_units_operational
No nuclear power generation since 2003. Processes still active: spent fuel storage, waste processing and storage, and plant decommissioning.
Power station.pushpin_map
England

via Wikipedia infobox

Research organization · ROR

Type
Company, Funder
Location
Carlisle, United Kingdom
Also known as
Windscale
Status
Active

GRID grid.438090.6

Wikidata facts

Image
Aerial view Sellafield, Cumbria - geograph.org.uk - 50827.jpg
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Sellafield
Commons gallery
Sellafield
service entry
1963-03-01
P12749
Lévis
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~60 min read

Article

57 sections
Contents
  • Site development
  • Royal Ordnance Factory
  • Start of nuclear activity
  • Calder Hall power station
  • British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL)
  • Reprocessing
  • Decommissioning
  • Management model following the Energy Act 2004
  • Decommissioning cost estimates
  • Major plants
  • Windscale Piles
  • First Generation Reprocessing Plant
  • Magnox Reprocessing Plant
  • The First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP)
  • Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS)
  • Calder Hall nuclear power station
  • Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (WAGR)
  • Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP)
  • Highly Active Liquor Evaporation and Storage
  • Waste Vitrification Plant
  • Sellafield MOX Plant
  • Enhanced Actinide Removal Plant (EARP)
  • Radioactive waste stores
  • Fellside Power Station
  • National Nuclear Laboratory headquarters
  • Sellafield and the local community
  • Employment
  • West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group (WCSSG)
  • Sellafield Visitor Centre
  • Incidents
  • Radiological releases
  • Windscale fire
  • Plutonium Recovery Plant criticality
  • First Generation Magnox Storage Pond Deterioration
  • MOX fuel quality data falsification
  • Plutonium records discrepancy
  • Waste Vitrification Plant sabotage
  • 2005 THORP plant leak
  • Organ removal inquiry
  • 2023 hacking and radioactive leak
  • Health studies in Cumbria and Seascale
  • Objections to reprocessing
  • Republic of Ireland
  • Isle of Man
  • Norway
  • Proposal to establish adjacent power station
  • Sellafield in popular culture
  • Notable employees
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Sources
  • Further reading
  • External links
  • 1957 fire
  • 2005 leak
  • Other

Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuclear power generation from 1956 to 2003, and nuclear fuel reprocessing from 1952 to 2022.

The licensed site covers an area of , and comprises more than 200 nuclear facilities and more than 1,000 buildings. It is Europe's largest nuclear site and has the most diverse range of nuclear facilities in the world on a single site. The site's workforce size varies, and before the COVID-19 pandemic was approximately 10,000 people. The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory has its Central Laboratory and headquarters on the site.

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