The Last Days of Magnox: Plant. People. Pride

[@dsgb]

I watch this with a tear in my eye. I worked at Calder Hall from 2000 to 2002 and I was fascinated and inspired by the dedication of the workforce and technical challenges facing the Sellafield site. I moved on to work at Chapelcross and Torness power stations and have enjoyed a 22 year career in the U.K. civil nuclear industry. Congratulations to all at Sellafield, Windscale and all the plants. I salute you all!

[@paul.alarner6410]

have your offspring got 3 eyes and 14 fingers?

[@mb106429]

​ Don't be silly, the staff are at lower risk than the general population or any wildlife; they are monitored and protected, and their working environment. It is the unknown leaks and emissions.... The hot particles on the beach and the organisms that live next to them, it is the whole population of people chronically ingesting traces and odd sporadic doses of synthetic nuclides through food and air

[@wulliest]

Been to Sellafield a number of times professionally - it really pains my heart successive governments didn't invest in nuclear - renewables are all well and good, but nuclear really could and should be foremost at our countries energy strategy.

[@neilhilton35]

Sadly it's been short term Government decision making that has led to a lack of clear and coherent energy policy. I believe we would have been world professionals now selling our technologies to the rest of the world had we maintained a full nuclear programme. We would also have fared better in the current energy crisis.

[@christopherbate6248]

Renewables should be top priority solar wind , tidal and geological energy sources . Energy storage is equally important . Nuclear is unsustainable and creates a potential problem for hundreds of thousands of years . Quite frankly It’s a dirty industry we’re money talks. It’s harmful to the environment what gave sellafield the right to dump harmful waste into the Irish Sea for 50 years a ticking time bomb increasing the risk of cancer for our future children. . . They don’t talk about that just the positives . The negative side is all covered up . Disgusting just quick cash for the government and the lemmings who did the dirty work .

[@missano3856]

Probably not gas cooled reactors tho.

[@19TheChaosWarrior79]

I visited Sellafield for a school trip. We stood on top of one of the Calder Hall reactors. I think I was the only one of the kids from my class who was genuinely shitting myself as Chernobyl was still fresh in the memory. Probably the reason we were there to show how safe it was. I also went to the visitors centre with my dad too. No doubt this is the main reason I follow this channel

[@EmmaB-ti7it]

My dad was a finance manager for magnox. I went to see this few weeks ago at Rosehill theatre. Was very interesting and got to meet some people who knew him. Sadly my dad passed away November 2016

[@northsimulation3386]

A truly fantastic legacy, the Magnox Reprocessing plant is a real testament to the engineering and build quality of its time.

[@-__-.]

What an amazing video, hats off to the team.

[@clivewinters7479]

Wonderful video, so informative. Great people. Total dedication throughout, everyone on the same page. What a superb facility this has been. The original science and engineering design was cutting edge. And the operation second to none. 🇬🇧

[@geezzzwdf]

To The People of Magnox , THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL FOR THE NUCEAR INDUSTRY'S EXEMPLAR IN REPROCESSING . WE in the US DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, THERE IN THE UK. i'm only a retired emissions technition but i would have worked there , with you all . Deep Bow in honor of your work and Integrity of purpose over these 6 decdes. We The People of The World , THANK YOU. 🎉❤🇬🇧👍📯♥️🏆🎉 C&E*Ca.USA 👩‍🦳👩‍💻🏖️🇺🇸☮️🤭

[@Ann-sj4pt]

You are crazy

[@AnthonyFrancisJones]

Excellent and as a physics teacher I found this really interesting and what a great team you have as well!

[@neilhilton35]

This is the practical application of all that early learning in the education system. We need to encourage youngsters to excel in science to meet the challenges of the future.

[@marksweep1970]

I really enjoyed this.....I don't even work at sellafield or for the nuclear industry...

[@dh1380]

It pays well!

[@caddyhaus]

Excellent work producing such a fantastic film.

[@petrolhead0387]

Great video, well done everyone. However it would have been nice to see some coverage of the supporting plants, some of which have ended operations along with 205 & 268.

[@johnhagen31]

I'm just an ordinary Englishman but a great supporter of nuclear power. I'd like to thank all the staff in this video and those we couldn't see. Excellent work 🙂

[@derekp2674]

Great video, thanks very much.

[@donalddouglas5988]

There is not one word about how much this plant cost the British tax payers.

[@christopherbate6248]

They used tax payers money so they could build it to make nuclear weapons that could potentially seal the fate of humanity. Then they turned it into a cash cow to produce energy at the tax payers expense charging the population for the energy it produced . All the time dumping the waste into the Irish Sea. Now they are all half dead and needing a place to bury the shit that they produced for 50 years in this over populated industrial arsehole of Europe . It’s going to cost the tax payer again but they don’t worry because they have their Jags and their million pound houses. There is no democracy in this country it’s a dictatorship always has been . Fact is money talks .

[@jacobgleave1379]

Sites like this gave the uk invaluable knowledge and experience in the nuclear industry. On top of that sellafield originally produced electricity for the uk and reprocessed Japanese fuel bringing money into the uk.

[@Ann-sj4pt]

This site is the most toxic place in Europe and will be for millenia.

[@christopherbate6248]

My mates dad Mike Rush from Liverpool worked at Sellafield in the late 80’s / early 90’s as a shift manager I’m not exactly sure what area of the site he was located . He died of cancer several years ago now. I remember a story he once told me about how bad health and safety was and how the management covered a lot of things up that should have been reported to regulatory bodies . He said one day a worker had an accident hitting a valve on a tank with a JCB causing it to leak. Contaminated liquid was sprayed over the JCB and his dosimeter had gone off .He quickly brought in another JCB digger and dug a large hole . They then pushed the contaminated digger into the hole and drove the other one in too . After that he said they brought in concrete trucks and buried them both. He said there was nothing else that could be done because of the nature of the accident . I was shocked . Wondering if anyone who worked there around that time remembers the incident ?? it may not have been officially recorded .

[@garethjohnstone8662]

The workers must hear that criticality alarm in their sleep, lol.

[@TheFusedplug]

What happened to the big dome that was there during WINDSCALE

[@mb106429]

Magnox was about irradiating as much 'fuel' as possible so that as much weapons grade plutonium as possible is created within them.

[@TheFusedplug]

I kind of wish I'd worked there myself after watching this

[@CA_I]

This was a very interesting video and watch. It would be good to see one on THORP as well. In terms of the recovered, reprocessed fuel, what happened to the recovered Plutonium, and is that why the UK has the biggest civilian stockpile of Plutonium and can't do anything with it?

[@davidgray4365]

It is stored in 15kg aluminium and stainless cans. A fuel called MOX was devised to use the Pu but the big wave in Japan swamped the plant. It is still considered an asset with potential future use, hence its long term storage. MOX plant at Sellafield is mothballed but the French still make it.

[@CA_I]

@@davidgray4365 thanks, I didn't know about the storage, but I've read about the disaster that was the Sellafield MOX plant. I dont think it's right to solely blame the Fukishima disaster as to why the Mox plant failed. It seems more people are moving to dilute and dispose strategy, which the UK would be probably better off doing. What I cant fathom is how they thought it was a good idea to stockpile so much Plutonium, and then be left with all the problems it poses today.

[@Tuberuser187]

@@CA_I The fact that Japan had the only prototype Breeder Reactor was a symptom more than a cause, back when Breeder Cycle Reactors where theorized it was based on a number of assumption including Uranium prices only getting higher over time and the gremlins in that Reactor type being worked out among others. None of this actually happened, Japan had the only Breeder Cycle prototype and was under delays for years anyway. The costs of Uranium are still stable, the security issues related to Plutonium being the easiest to use in Atom Bomb construction led to it not being sold so its all sitting there.

[@cymbala6208]

This is a very important film document, thank you! I do not work in nuclear industry, but I am very interested in historical aspects of it. Every minute was worth watching 👍 But one question: 1:14 why may I not read the sign on that radiation monitor 🤔?

[@cymbala6208]

24:33 are these the motors of the mixers?

[@dh1380]

Yes

[@robprupe]

How many times can they say family in one video, it would make a good drinking game.

[@midbc1midbc199]

The demand and contracts from various countries for uranium and plutonium was a good incentive alone.......military money

[@mb106429]

7:20 "the primary product that we are after..."

[@dogwoodtube]

I thought this reprocess plant was built in the 1970’s not 60s

[@jamespattenden605]

You can really feel proud of yourselves for helping decrease the carbon footprint, but what about the toxic waste you have left behind that is going to take generations to become safe. the gentleman that said the leakage into the sea happened on an unfortunate day as the sea was calm ???. So just how many times did you actually discharge into the sea ???.

[@mb106429]

Magnox's function is not to 'reduce CO2' It's purpose is to make Plutonium for bombs

[@Chiavaccio]

👏👏

[@coderider3022]

Much easier to dig a whole or use a mountain somewhere ? He claimed 55k tons processed but other countries just don’t do it, uk obsession and a flawed business plan from the past ?

[@paulrimmer2409]

Kimberly 😍😍

[@mahogany3947]

What the hell is that noise

[@cymbala6208]

If you mean the clicking sounds in the background: that sound reassures the workers that the alarm systems (esp. criticality alarm) are working correctly.

[@justice83]

Gives a new meaning for ehen the alarm goes "off"

[@innocentbystander3798]

Wait... isn't "pride" bad? I thought is a sin. No?

[@robertball6301]

Nuclear fuel reprocessing? :(

[@joohop]

Don't Give A Box Of Matches To A Monkey

[@Smart-Skippy]

What an exceptional propaganda / advertorial doco.