Nuclear switch-off at Dungeness A

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/6203953.stm

Last Updated: Sunday, 31 December 2006, 17:45 GMT

Nuclear switch-off at Dungeness A

A nuclear power plant which has been generating electricity for 41 years has had its two reactors shut down.

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The nuclear reactors were switched off at different times on New Year's Eve, before a lengthy decommissioning and site clearance programme began.

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Another of the UK's first generation of nuclear power stations, Sizewell A in Suffolk, was also closed down on the same day.

The reactors were being decommissioned because they were less efficient than larger counterparts, and a reprocessing plant at Sellafield, which is necessary to make their spent fuel safe, is due to close in 2012.

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