General interior view of the pile cap and service machine of Reactor one (formerly Reactor 'A') 170 ft above ground level

Description General interior view of the pile cap and service machine of Reactor one (formerly Reactor 'A') 170 ft above ground level

Date 12/9/1989

Catalogue Number B 20048 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 357728

Scope and Content Pile cap and service machine of Reactor One, Hunterston 'A' Nuclear Power Station, North Ayrshire Hunterston 'A' nuclear power station, a magnox reactor (named after the magnesium alloy used to cover the fuel rods), was commissioned in 1955, designed 1955-7 and built 1957-64. It closed in 1990, and is being decommissioned, a process which may take up to 135 years. The reactors are housed in two glass-fronted structures with curving sides, and are surrounded by lower buildings housing further machinery and supplies. This shows the area above one of the two reactors, an area called the pile cap. Heavy tiles can be removed from the floor to enable the blue service machine access to the reactor's control rods and mechanisms for servicing. The machine uses closed circuit television to monitor maintenance operations. Nuclear power stations use the vast amounts of energy produced by nuclear fission to heat water in boilers. This steam is then used to drive turbines which turn generators to produce electricity which is distributed via the National Grid. Hunterston 'A' nuclear power station has been selected as one of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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