EDF shuts two nuclear power stations temporarily. 11 August 2014Last updated at 08:22 ET The problem was uncovered during a routine inspection The electricity company EDF has temporarily shut down two of its nuclear power stations, Heysham 1 and Hartlepool. It said it was a precautionary measure after finding a defect, in June, in one of the boilers at Heysham 1. The problem was first detected during a routine boiler inspection, which led to one of the station's two nuclear reactors being shut down.
All four reactors at the stations will be shut as they are of similar design. The company said all the boilers associated with the two nuclear reactors at Heysham 1, and with the two nuclear reactors at Hartlepool, would be inspected to make sure they were safe. "Until the results of the further inspections are known it is not possible to advise exact return to service dates for these four reactors, however, an initial estimate is that these investigations will take around eight weeks," said EDF. 'Conservative action' Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab. 7 October 2013Last updated at 17:25 ET By Paul Rincon Science Editor, BBC News website The achievement is the first of its kind anywhere in the world Researchers at a US lab have passed a crucial milestone on the way to their ultimate goal of achieving self-sustaining nuclear fusion.
Harnessing fusion - the process that powers the Sun - could provide an unlimited and cheap source of energy. But to be viable, fusion power plants would have to produce more energy than they consume, which has proven elusive. Now, a breakthrough by scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) could boost hopes of scaling up fusion. NIF, based at Livermore in California, uses 192 beams from the world's most powerful laser to heat and compress a small pellet of hydrogen fuel to the point where nuclear fusion reactions take place.
This is a step short of the lab's stated goal of "ignition", where nuclear fusion generates as much energy as the lasers supply. Continue reading the main story Nuclear fusion at NIF. Chernobyl's legacy recorded in trees. 8 August 2013Last updated at 20:50 ET By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News The change in wood colour in these Scots pine logs indicates the year of the accident Exposure to radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl accident had a lasting negative legacy on the area's trees, a study has suggested. Researchers said the worst effects were recorded in the "first few years" but surviving trees were left vulnerable to environmental stress, such as drought. They added that young trees appeared to be particularly affected. Writing in the journal Trees, the team said it was the first study to look at the impact at a landscape scale.
"Our field results were consistent with previous findings that were based on much smaller sample sizes," explained co-author Tim Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US. "They are also consistent with the many reports of genetic impacts to these trees," he told BBC News. "This is worth further investigation. " 'Critical phase' for Iter fusion dream. 7 August 2013Last updated at 00:30 GMT By David Shukman Science editor, BBC News The foundations for Iter's tokamak - which will contain the hot plasma - have been laid The world's largest bid to harness the power of fusion has entered a "critical" phase in southern France. The Iter project at Cadarache in Provence is receiving the first of about one million components for its experimental reactor.
Dogged by massive cost rises and long delays, building work is currently nearly two years behind schedule. The construction of the key building has even been altered to allow for the late delivery of key components. "We're not hiding anything - it's incredibly frustrating," David Campbell, a deputy director, told BBC News.
"Now we're doing everything we can to recover as much time as possible. "The project is inspiring enough to give you the energy to carry on - we'd all like to see fusion energy as soon as possible. " Continue reading the main story Fusion facts Continue reading the main story Cryostat. Fukushima radioactive water leak an 'emergency'