A £40MILLION maintenance programme at Hinkley Point B in Somerset is almost halfway through its planned ten weeks.

County Gazette reporter DANIELLE MORRIS and photographer ASH MAGILL were given a tour of the plant during the ‘outage’ to find out what goes on.

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THE largerefuelling machine takes centre stage in the reactor's charge hall.

THESE pictures show you what the inside of one of Somerset’s nuclear power stations looks like.

Hinkley Point B, near Stogursey, is made up of two Advanced Gas-Cooled reactors which generate enough electricity to power around one and a half million homes.

The station was the first in the country to use advanced gascooled reactors to generate electricity which, in its simplest term, means that the fuel is part of a controlled chain reaction which generates heat, turning water into steam.

The steam then powers turbines which then in turn drive electric generators. Under each one of 308 blocks, or channels as they are known, lies a fuel stringer, and in total there are over five and a half million fuel pellets in each of the station’s two reactors.

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THE outage means maintenance can be carried out and pieces of equipment, such as the turbine blades, can be replaced.

Reactor 4 is currently on statutory outage, meaning it’s out of service, although the site hasn’t exactly quietened down, and in fact is busier than ever with an extra 1,000 people joining the 750- strong workforce.

“We've been planning the outage for the past two years,” plant manager Pete Evans told me.

“Everything is going well and we’re on track to be up and running again in April.

“This is a really important time for the station as it gives us a chance to properly check everything, to carry out maintenance and make any repairs.”

When photographer Ash Magill and I arrived, we were held up by the arrival of a new turbine blade. Turbines drive the generators, and replacing them can be a lengthy process.

Peter Higginson, technical and safety support manager at Hinkley B, said: “The turbine blades are sent off site to be inspected and refurbished if necessary.

“Outages happen every three years and while we’re constantly making sure equipment is all okay and making any repairs we need to, this means we can carry out maintenance that we wouldn’t normally be able to, such as inspecting the reactors.

“Next year, Reactor 3 has its outage and everything is progressing well for that.

“It’s something I’ve done a few times and it’s a really good opportunity to see what goes on,” Peter explains.

“It can get quite warm in there so staff wear special temperature-controlled suits and we have a practise and go through everything beforehand.”

Safety is the number one priority of the station in all they do.

From ensuring handrails are held while on stairs to testing clothing, equipment and most importantly – people – to ensure they’re radiation-free.

As well as a hardhat, suit, goggles and steel-toe-capped boots, workers carry a radiation monitor.

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HAND-HELD radiation monitor.

And before leaving the reactor area, you go through three different body scanners as well as a scanner for the equipment you carry with you.

Pete Evans, who has been working in nuclear power since 1977, says safety is the key message they’re keen to get out to the public.

He adds: “We encourage visitors to come along and see for themselves just how safe everything is here.

“There are four crucial steps to running the site – safety, quality, time and cost.

“If you get the safety and quality right, time and costs on repairs and maintenance can be kept down.”

The site is so safe in fact that you can stand on the reactor itself.

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EACH fuel stringer contains a fuel panel, making up the reactor.

But the white blocks and giant turbines are only part of the complex equation.

In the reactor’s charge hall, the large refuelling machine takes centre stage, standing 21 metres tall.

The machine, which operates 24/7, moves on to the reactor’s pile cap, lifting up each fuel stringer one at a time to exchange fuel.

Each block takes eight to ten hours to refuel.

The machine swaps between reactors and is continually monitored by staff.

And it’s not just equipment EDF Energy are keen to invest in.

Having worked his way up through the company, taking on various roles such as technician, engineer, reactor desk engineer, outage manager, maintenance manager, operations manager and plant manager, Pete is keen to share his skills with the workers of tomorrow.

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GAZETTE reporter Danielle gets checked for radiation by Peter Higginson.

He does so by helping to support the station’s apprentices who are based both at Bridgwater College and HMS Sultan Gosport.

“I want to encourage as many young people as possible to come and work here and to work their way up like I did,” said Pete.

“There are a lot of opportunities here and one of my roles is to break down the barriers and help young people who might not even be considering a career here to come in and see what we do and how they can use their skills to work here.”