The Torness nuclear power station on Scotland’s south-east coast is showing its age. Over the past few years, cracks have started to appear in the graphite bricks encasing the uranium-filled fuel rods.

The bricks are too difficult to replace, so engineers routinely lower microscopic cameras into the reactor to monitor the wear and tear caused by radiation. If the cracks start to jeopardise the reactor’s ability to safely shut down during an extreme earthquake or other disaster, it cannot stay open. 

So far, so good. And the plant’s owner EDF, the French energy group, intends to keep the station running until at least 2030, 42 years after it opened in 1988. Station director Paul Forrest is confident. “But if the graphite inspection starts surprising us, we will change course,” he says.