The History of Nuclear

UK Nuclear History Timeline

The History of Nuclear PDF with links and Source References

The History of UK Nuclear

Iain McNair and Richard Hibbert

Introduction

This article presents a brief overview of the history of the UK Nuclear industry and the events that have shaped the industry’s organisation and culture. It supports the body of nuclear knowledge for quality professionals, the Nuclear Quality Knowledge (NQK). The attached timeline identifies major industry developments and events. Hyperlinks are provided to supporting information. There is also a short introduction on the key scientific discoveries that preceded the formation of the nuclear industry.

Scientific Discoveries

Nuclear physics became a distinct discipline with the discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896. A number of key breakthroughs were made in the period up to 1938 when nuclear fission was discovered. The UK contributed strongly to these developments, particularly through the work of Ernest Rutherford and his students at the University of Manchester and the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge.

Key scientific developments in the period 1895-1938 are shown in Table 1 below. A more extensive list is provided on the Atomic Heritage Foundation website at https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/timeline.

Table 1 Key Developments in Nuclear Physics 1896-1938

MAUD Committee and Tube Alloys

The rise of the Nazi party to power led to concerns about the possibility of Germany developing a nuclear bomb. A UK scientific working group called the MAUD Committee was formed in response to the Frisch-Peierls memorandum. The memorandum argued that a highly explosive device could be formed from a small sphere of pure uranium-235. Research was carried out at four universities in the UK and the MAUD report was produced in 1941. The report led to the initiation of a UK nuclear weapons programme that was given the misleading name of Tube Alloys for security reasons. Tube Alloys was subsumed into the Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project carried out nuclear research and development during World War II. The project carried out the first nuclear bomb test and produced the first two nuclear weapons that were used against Japan. The project was led by the US with support from the UK and Canada.

The Atomic Heritage Foundation website provides an overview of the history of the Manhattan Project.

Immediate Post-War Developments

John Cockcroft was asked by the Government in 1945 to set up a nuclear research laboratory. This request led to the founding of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) at Harwell in Oxfordshire. The laboratory had the remit to develop the use of nuclear fission for both military purposes and generating energy.

The US Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) stopped the sharing of atomic information between the US and the UK. This led to the ministerial decision that the UK would produce its own nuclear weapons in January 1947. The weapons development project was given the cover name "High Explosive Research". Operations commenced in 1950 at the former RAF Aldermaston airfield in Berkshire.

The High Explosive Research project was renamed the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) in 1952. Christopher Hinton directed the construction of production facilities. He established his headquarters at Risley near Warrington. A uranium metal plant was built at Springfields near Preston, two nuclear piles and a plutonium processing plant at Windscale in Cumbria and a gaseous diffusion plant at Capenhurst in Cheshire. AWRE, AERE and the production sites were originally under the Ministry of Supply.

The first UK nuclear bomb test, Operation Hurricane, was carried out in the Monte Bello Islands in Western Australia in 1952.

In 1953 the UK Government announced that the UK would begin a civil nuclear power programme. Construction of Calder Hall, the UK’s first nuclear station, commenced at Windscale in the same year. The first Magnox reactor at Calder Hall was opened in 1956.

UK Atomic Energy Authority

The UK Atomic Energy Authority was formed in 1954 through the Atomic Energy Authority Act. The UK Atomic Energy Authority was given responsibility for the United Kingdom's entire nuclear programme. AWRE, AERE, Risley, Springfields, Capenhurst and Windscale were transferred to UK Atomic Energy Authority. Additional sites were also established;

The Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment on the north coast of Caithness in Scotland in 1955 as the UK centre for fast reactor research and development;
Chapelcross near Annan in Scotland in 1959 as the sister plant to Calder Hall;
The Low Level Waste repository at Drigg in Cumbria in 1959;
Winfrith in Dorset in 1960 to test a variety of new nuclear reactor designs; and
The Culham Laboratory in Oxfordshire in 1965 which has since become the UK’s centre for fusion research.

Like Windscale, the Dounreay site was placed in a remote location for safety reasons. Fast reactors were believed to be essential to produce plutonium from uranium-238 as uranium deposits were thought to be rare. The Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) operated between 1959 and 1977. The Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) operated between 1974 and 1994. The UK eventually decided that it would not need fast reactors in the foreseeable future as uranium was no longer scarce

The Dragon reactor was built and operated at Winfrith to test fuel and materials for the European High Temperature Reactor programme. The reactor operated between 1965 and 1976. The Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) was also built and operated at Winfrith. SGHWR was a UK-designed prototype for a commercial reactor and operated between 1967 and 1990. A larger commercial design was originally selected in 1974 for use in the UK but the decision was reversed in 1976.

Culham is the only site that is still operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The site is now known as Culham Science Centre and includes the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE). The Joint European Torus (JET) is still in operation at the site. Upgrading of the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) is in progress. In 2019 the Government announced funding for a new fusion programme to build a Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP).

The Windscale Fire of 1957 had a major impact on the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The fire occurred in Pile 1 and was the worst nuclear accident in UK history. It led to the shutdown of both Windscale Piles and improvements to the Calder Hall, Chapelcross and later Magnox reactors. The investigation of the fire exposed organisational weaknesses and led to a major restructuring. These organisational changes were a precursor for important industry changes that followed; the formation of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) in 1959, the formation of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) in 1970 and the formation of British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) in 1971.

Commercial Nuclear Power Station Operators

The South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) was formed in 1955. It operated nuclear power stations in Scotland, except for Chapelcross, until 1990 when Scottish Nuclear was formed.

The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was formed in 1958. It operated nuclear power stations in England and Wales, except Calder Hall, until 1990 when Nuclear Electric was formed.

Magnox Electric was created in 1996 to take ownership of the Magnox stations from Nuclear Electric and Scottish Nuclear. The newer nuclear power stations consisting of seven advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) sites and one pressurised water reactor (PWR) site were transferred to a new company British Energy. British Energy was formed in 1995 and privatised in 1996.

In 1998 Magnox Electric was merged into British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) as BNFL Magnox Generation. Ownership of BNFL's Magnox sites transferred to the newly created Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in 2005.

British Energy was taken over by Électricité de France (EDF) in 2009.

Nuclear Power Programmes

Magnox Programme

The first power nuclear programme was announced in 1955 in a government white paper titled A programme of nuclear power. The UK-designed Magnox reactor was selected due to the lack of UK access to enriched uranium and heavy water. The programme was initially expanded and then cut back with eighteen commercial Magnox reactors eventually built at the following nine sites; Berkeley, Bradwell, Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, Hunterston A, Oldbury, Sizewell A, Trawsfynnydd and Wylfa. These stations were built on behalf of the operators by a series of consortia. Two more Magnox stations were built outside the UK in Italy (Latina) and Japan (Tokai Mura).

The first two Magnox stations, Calder Hall and Chapelcross, focused primarily on plutonium production until 1964 when they switched their emphasis to power generation. These two stations used smaller reactors and were initially operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

The Magnox programme experienced a number of problems. The design continued to evolve resulting in significant difference between stations. There were also variations in the Magnox fuel element design used by the different stations. The station builds tended to run late and be more expensive than predicted.

The last operating Magnox reactor, Wylfa 1, was shut down in 2015.

Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR) Programme

In 1964 a white paper called The Second Nuclear Power Programme was produced. There was significant debate over the reactor type to be used. The CEGB favoured US-designed light water reactors but the UK Atomic Energy Authority championed adoption of its AGR design. The AGR was selected in 1965 and fourteen reactors were built at the following seven sites; Dungeness B, Hartlepool, Heysham I, Heysham II, Hinkley Point B, Hunterston B and Torness.

The AGR programme like the Magnox programme proved to be problematic. There were again design changes that resulted in a lack of standardisation and time and cost overruns. The AGR was designed to allow refuelling at power but this was not achieved. Only a much smaller protype, the Windscale AGR (WAGR), had been built. Scaling up the WAGR design resulted in many problems. The construction of the first AGR station, Dungeness B, proved to be particularly difficult. The completion date for Dungeness B was originally 1970 but power was not generated until 1983. The cost was around four times higher than originally estimated after allowance for inflation.

Hunterston B and Hinkley Point B AGR stations ceased operation in 2022.

Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) Programme

Consideration of a third Nuclear Power Programme was promoted in the early 1970s by the coal miner’s strike of 1972 and the large increase in oil prices in 1973. The reactors considered for the programme were; a US designed Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), SGHWR and the high-temperature gas reactor (HTR). The Commons Science Committee supported the selection of the SGHWR but this reactor type was subsequently rejected. It was announced in 1980 that a Westinghouse PWR would be built at Sizewell. A single reactor was built following a planning enquiry and commenced power generation in 1995. There were plans to build additional PWRs and a planning inquiry for Hinkley Point C was held. These plans were initially delayed and eventually cancelled in 1995 following a government review.

The Sizewell B PWR is currently still in use. In 2022, EDF commences a review to look at extending the operational life of the reactor by at least 20 years.

Details of the operating history of Magnox, AGR and PWR reactors can be found in the section on Nuclear Development in the United Kingdom on the World Nuclear Association Website.

New Build Programme

Several energy reviews were carried out in the period 2002-2007. Since the passing of the 2008 Energy Act there has been a strong drive in the UK to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In 2010 government permission was given for the construction of up to eight new nuclear power plants.

EDF Energy, NuGeneration (NuGen) and Horizon Nuclear Power all announced plans to build new nuclear stations in the UK. However, NuGen has now been liquidated and Horizon has suspended its development programme. EDF is constructing two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C and has plans to build two more reactors at Sizewell C.

The UK Government declared support for new nuclear build in 2020 as part of its “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution”. In 2022, The UK Government issued the British energy security strategy. The strategy recognises the need to reverse decades of underinvestment in nuclear power by increasing nuclear capacity to 25% of projected electricity demand by 2050. This represents a threefold increase compared to the present capacity. The strategy also includes collaboration with other countries to accelerate work on advanced nuclear technologies. Advanced technologies include both Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs).

Rolls-Royce has been backed by a consortium of private investors and the UK government to develop SMRs. A new company, Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd, was formed in November 2021. In November 2022 the results of a siting assessment review were announced. The priority sites, where multiple SMRs could be located, are; Trawsfynydd, land neighbouring the Sellafield site, Wylfa and Oldbury.

Nuclear Regulators

Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII)

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) was formed in 1959 under the provisions of the Nuclear Installations Act 1959. The Act came into force following the investigation into the 1957 fire at Windscale Pile 1. It was recommended that an organisation should be established with responsibility for licensing future civil reactors in the UK. The Act was subsequently amended and NII’s remit extended to cover nuclear power stations, nuclear chemical plants, defence nuclear facilities, nuclear safety research, decommissioning and strategy. The NII transferred to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) when the HSE was formed in 1975. NII’s responsibilities passed to the Office for Nuclear Regulation in 2011.

Office for Nuclear Regulation

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) was created in 2011 as a non-statutory agency of the Health and Safety Executive. It became an independent statutory corporation in 2014. ONR was formed from the merger of the HSE's Nuclear Directorate (including NII) and the Department for Transport's Radioactive Materials Transport Team.

British Nuclear Fuels Limited

BNFL was set up in 1971 from the production division of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. BNFL took over the majority of the Windscale site. The BNFL part of the site was re-named Sellafield with the smaller UK Atomic Energy Authority site retaining the name Windscale. BNFL also assumed responsibility for fuel manufacture at Springfields, and the operation of Capenhurst, Calder Hall, Chapelcross and the Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg.

BNFL was responsible for the manufacture and re-processing of nuclear fuel and the management of nuclear materials and wastes generated from its operations. BNFL carried out a number of major nuclear construction projects at Sellafield including; the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP), Intermediate Level Waste Encapsulation Plants and the Waste Vitrification Plant for high level waste. BNFL also undertook a number of significant UK decommissioning projects.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority took ownership of all of BNFL's nuclear sites. BNFL completed the sale of its assets in 2009 and was abolished in 2010.

Nuclear Defence Industry

Nuclear Deterrent

In the 1950s, Britain's nuclear deterrent was based on the use of Royal Air Force (RAF) V-bombers. Bombers became increasingly vulnerable due to developments in radar and surface to air missiles. In the 1960s, the British government decided to use nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). The UK was able to buy Polaris systems for UK-built submarines under the Nassau Agreement with the US. The Resolution class of submarine was used from the late 1960s until 1996. They were built by Vickers Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness and Cammell Laird in Birkenhead between 1964 and 1968. The resolution class was replaced by the Vanguard-class submarine carrying the Trident II. The Vanguard class submarines were built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. The site is now owned by BAE Systems. The UK’s nuclear deterrent, and other submarines, operate out of the naval base at HMNB Clyde commonly known as Faslane.

The Dreadnought programme to replace the Vanguard-class submarines commenced in 2016. Dreadnought submarines will be introduced from the 2030s onwards and have a lifespan of at least 30 years.

Nuclear Powered Submarines

Three classes of nuclear powered submarine have been used by the Royal Navy. The Swiftsure class was in service with the Royal Navy from the early 1970s until 2010. The Trafalgar class began service in the 1980s and is now being replaced by the Astute class.

The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE) at Dounreay was used for the testing and proving of five generations of reactor core. Site operations ended in 2015.

Nuclear powered submarines have been built at the Barrow in Furness site. The site has changed ownership a number of times. A summary of the history of the site from 1911, including submarine building, is available on the BAE website at https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/barrow-part-2.

Reactors for nuclear powered submarines are supplied by Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations Limited. The company operates a nuclear licensed manufacturing site at Raynesway in Derby that fabricates PWR cores.

The Naval Base at Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is the nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. Rosyth Dockyard, owned by Babcock Marine, carries out the dismantling of decommissioned nuclear submarines.

Atomic Weapons Research Establishment and Atomic Weapons Establishment

The origin of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) was the High Explosive Research project, see section 5 above. In 1973 AWRE was transferred to the Procurement Executive of the Ministry of Defence. AWRE was combined with Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Burghfield and ROF Cardiff to form the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in 1987.

There is an ebook on the AWE website that covers the 70 year history of AWE and its predecessors.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

In 2001 the UK Government announced that it would form a Liabilities Management Authority to manage the clean-up of the UK’s nuclear legacy. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) was established by the 2004 Energy Act. The NDA took on its main functions in 2005. The NDA manages a large-scale programme that includes decommissioning and radioactive waste management.

Site Licence Companies (SLCs) were formed to run the nuclear licensed sites that were transferred to the NDA. There have been some subsequent changes and there are currently four SLCs directly funded by the NDA. These SLCs are; Sellafield Ltd, Magnox Ltd, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and LLW Repository Ltd. Magnox Ltd operates the former Magnox generation sites, except Calder Hall, and the former UK Atomic Energy Authority sites Harwell and Winfrith. Harwell and Winfrith were originally operated by a different SLC called Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL). RSRL and Magnox merged in 2015.

The NDA’s original strategy was to run SLCs under contract for a period by Parent Body Organisations (PBOs). A PBO is a consortium of private sector organisations. This approach is changing after difficulties with the Sellafield Ltd and Magnox Ltd contracts. Sellafield Ltd became a wholly-owned NDA subsidiary in 2016 and Magnox Ltd became a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2019. DSRL and LLWR became NDA subsidiaries in 2021. In 2022, LLWR, Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM) and the NDA group's Integrated Waste Management Programme (IWMP) were brought together to form Nuclear Waste Services.

The NDA has a number of other wholly-owned subsidiary companies including:

Radioactive Waste Management;
Direct Rail Services Ltd;
International Nuclear Services Ltd;
Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd; and
NDA Archives Limited responsible for the nuclear archive based at Wick.

The NDA has granted a 150 year lease of the Springfields site to Westinghouse Electric UK Ltd. The NDA-owned part of the Capenhurst site has been transferred to URENCO UK.

Major Nuclear Accidents

Major Nuclear accidents have played a role in shaping the organisation and culture of the UK nuclear industry. The response to the 1957 Windscale fire is summarised in section 6 above. Later accidents have damaged public confidence in nuclear power and adversely influenced plans to build new nuclear stations. Other effects of these accidents are summarised in Table 2 below.

Table 2 Impact of Major Nuclear Accidents

Conclusions

The delivery of the UK’s weapons and nuclear power programmes over more than 70 years represents a considerable technological achievement. Nuclear power stations currently generate around 20% of the UK’s electricity and continued nuclear generation is important in meeting carbon reduction targets. There are major challenges and opportunities ahead;

The UK Government has made a clear commitment to nuclear power in its Ten point plan for a green industrial revolution and the British energy security strategy. The need to reverse decades of underinvestment is recognised.
All Magnox reactors and some older AGR reactors have shutdown. Life extension of Sizewell B and new stations will be needed to maintain capacity.
Progress with the new build programme has been slower than anticipated and securing the necessary financing has proved challenging. Work at Hinkley Point C is well advanced and Sizewell C has received planning permission.
The building of small nuclear reactors (SMRs) is a key part of the UK energy strategy. Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd was formed in November 2021 and four priority sites for SMRs have been identified.
There are ambitious plans for the fusion industry in the UK Fusion strategy and the STEP programme. The Government wants the UK to lead the global commercialisation of fusion energy.
The UK has a significant nuclear legacy to manage.
New high-level and intermediate-level waste solutions will need to be developed.

Important lessons have been learned from the 1957 Windscale fire in Pile 1 and the first two nuclear power programmes. The Windscale Fire led to significant organisational changes including the formation of a nuclear regulator. The nuclear power programmes proved to be problematic due to evolving reactor designs and lack of standardisation. The AGR was not ready for commercial exploitation when it was introduced as only a small protype had been built. Major problems were encountered especially at Dungeness B during the scale-up.

The UK nuclear industry has been significantly influenced by lessons learned from major nuclear accidents. The importance of human factors, human performance and safety culture is recognised by ONR and in the arrangements of Nuclear Site Licensees. Engineering improvements have been made to nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities. Modern reactor designs like the EPR are safer and are better equipped to prevent and deal with ‘loss of coolant’ accidents.

It is essential that the UK nuclear industry maintains high professional standards in all areas that contribute to nuclear safety including; leadership, management, staff competence and engineering. The promotion and maintenance of a strong culture for safety is an essential requirement for maintaining public confidence and ultimately for ensuring the industry’s success. Effective project management and consistent delivery of projects to quality, time and cost are also vitally important.