Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station, is being safely dismantled at Sellafield, 70 years after its opening on 17 October 1956 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The station, which closed in March 2003, generated electricity for 47 years using its four Magnox reactors.
Work to decommission the site involves a planned sequence, including the removal of all 40,000 fuel rods from its reactors, which was confirmed in 2019. The cooling towers have been taken down, and thousands of tonnes of asbestos and other redundant plant have been removed.
This ongoing demolition work is also intended to create space for future facilities and infrastructure at Sellafield, such as supporting the SIXEP Continuity Plant. The experience gained from decommissioning Calder Hall is expected to aid other projects within Sellafield and the NDA group.