22/03/2013 - SELLAFIELD BEING SHUT AS A PRECAUTION

[BeardyMan]

Spotted this on the BBC news ticker

1247: More from Karl Connor, spokesman at Sellafield: "The shutdown has nothing to do with the work here at the site. This is purely a safety issue because of the high winds and snow, we want our 8,500 workers to go early and get home safely."

Seems a bit extreme - but if a bit of bad weather can shut down a nuclear power plant then what happens if there's a pandemic / fuel strike. I thought these things were designed to run autonomously? Looks like the power could go off a lot earlier than expected.....

---

1228: Statement from Sellafield spokesman Karl Connor: "The site emergency control centre has been established and is managing the incident in line with well rehearsed procedures. We have implemented a phased early release of staff from the site; this is being carried out in a safe, controlled manner. There is no reason to believe that there will be any off-site nuclear, environmental or conventional safety issues associated with the incident. The priority for the team is to protect our workforce, the community and the environment."