"As shorelines creep inland and storms worsen, nuclear reactors around the world face new challenges."
"The outer defensive wall of what is expected to be the world’s most expensive nuclear power station is taking shape on the shoreline of the choppy gray waters of the Bristol Channel in western England.
By the time the US $25-billion Hinkley Point C nuclear station is finished, possibly in 2028, the concrete seawall will be 12.5 meters high, 900 meters long, and durable enough, the UK regulator and French engineers say, to withstand the strongest storm surge, the greatest tsunami, and the highest sea-level rise.
But will it? Independent nuclear consultant Pete Roche, a former adviser to the UK government and Greenpeace, points out that the tidal range along this stretch of coast is one of the highest in the world, and that erosion is heavy. Indeed, observers reported serious flooding on the site in 1981 when an earlier nuclear power station had to be shut down for a week, following a spring tide and a storm surge. However well built, says Roche, the new seawall does not adequately take into account sea-level rise due to climate change."
John Vidal reports for Ensia/Hakai magazine August 21, 2018.
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