A wildfire reaching a nuclear power station would be very unlikely to trigger an emergency, scientists said as a blaze burned across heathland near Sizewell B in Suffolk.
The fire forced holidaymakers to flee campsites and prompted a major emergency response. Sizewell B denied reports it had been placed on high alert.
Professor Joel Turner, Rolls-Royce Chair in Nuclear Fuel Technology at the University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, said there was very little danger to the plant. He explained that operators could rapidly shut down the reactor by triggering a SCRAM, in which control rods are inserted into the reactor core in less than a second.
Turner said a SCRAM would likely be done only because it was unsafe to keep the plant fully staffed, rather than because of physical danger to the reactor itself. He added that the biggest concern would be maintaining the station's connection to the electricity grid, which helps power its cooling systems, but said the plant has multiple backup cooling systems and diesel-powered generators.
Professor Mike Bluck, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London, said the fire front was around three to four miles from the site, which remained unaffected. He said the industrial nature of the site and its network of large access roads would help act as natural firebreaks.
Bluck said the reactor was specifically designed to withstand external hazards including fires, and that extensive backup cooling systems would keep it secure if the reactor were shut down. He described breaching the containment and pressure vessel as unimaginable.
He also noted that Britain is not facing an unprecedented situation, pointing out that France has several nuclear power stations located close to areas regularly affected by much larger wildfires without any recorded nuclear incidents.
Dr Thomas Smith, Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said he did not expect the fire to threaten the power plant. He cited the distance of the fire, a large expanse of non-vegetated areas providing a buffer zone, and forecast drops in temperature and rises in humidity that would help slow the spread.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze broke out near the National Trust's Coastguard Cottages on Dunwich Heath at around 5.30pm the previous day. It grew from around 24 acres in the morning to roughly 247 acres by midday, an area equivalent to about 140 football pitches.
Sizewell B is the UK's only operating pressurised water reactor and has been generating electricity since 1995. The station produces enough power for around 2.5 million homes, supplying roughly three per cent of Britain's electricity. Earlier this month, the government approved plans to extend the station's operating life from 2035 until 2055.
