Archived press release

Bnfl sell-off could be "giant turkey"

13 July 1999

The Government's plan to sell 49% of British Nuclear Fuels could be bad news for investors if the company sticks to its plan to reprocess the world's spent nuclear fuels. And the taxpayer may be landed with billions of pounds of unfunded liabilities from the decommissioning of Magnox power stations, before BNFL could have a profitable future.

Key points glossed over in Trade Secretary Stephen Byers' announcement include:
. the THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield is highly unreliable. It was shut down for five months in 1998 because of radioactive leaks. An authoritative report for FOE by the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex concluded that THORP is a “loss maker in terms of expected future new avoidable cash flows” [“THORP: The Case for Contract Renegotiation" by Mike Sadnicki, Fred Barker, and Gordon MacKerron, June 1999]

. the MOX plant at Sellafield, which is designed to mix plutonium with uranium to make new fuel rods, has yet to open. The Government was recently forced to announce a third consultation on its commercial viability

. the cost of decommissioning elderly Magnox reactors will be enormous, and BNFL does not have the money to cover the bills. Research by the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University shows that out of a total of £18.5 billion undiscounted (2) liabilities for Magnox Electric, some £13.0 billion has no future funding source other than the taxpayer. If earlier experience in UK nuclear projects holds good, the total liabilities for Magnox electric could easily escalate to over £34.3 billion

. BNFL still has no idea what to do with its plutonium and other waste. More than 50 tonnes of separated plutonium is still in storage at Sellafield.

Commenting, FOE Nuclear Campaigner Dr Patrick Green said today:
"The partial sell-off of BNFL could turn out to be a giant turkey - both for investors and the taxpayer. Reprocessing is proving to be an expensive mess. The THORP plant is unreliable, and the MOX plant hasn't even opened. Meanwhile, the costs of decommissioning elderly Magnox reactors will be huge. The only viable future for BNFL is as a company which manages existing nuclear waste, and helps other countries to decommission their reactors. If BNFL sticks to its plan to reprocess the rest of the world's spent nuclear fuel, investors, taxpayers and our environment will all suffer the consequences.”

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust