The reactors are licensed to operate for between 33 and 50 years and this early announcement of the Company's strategy for the lifetimes of the stations will allow operational plans to be optimised. For business reasons, Hinkley Point A will not be brought back into service from its current shutdown.

With today's announcement the Magnox station lifetimes will be planned as follows:-

Station	Licensed lifetime	Age at Cessation of Generation	Latest date for end of Generation
Calder Hall*	50	50	2006/2008
Chapelcross*	50	50	2008/2010
Bradwell	40	40	2002
Hinkley Point A	40	35	2000
Dungeness A	40	40	2006
Sizewell A	40	40	2006
Oldbury**	40	45	2013
Wylfa**	33	45/50	2016/2021

*Continuing to run Oldbury and Wylfa to these dates depends upon the development and use of Magrox fuel. Magrox is a fuel in which uranium is used in ceramic oxide rather than metal form. A decision on the use of Magrox fuel will be taken in around 2003. Oldbury and Wylfa will also need to undergo a Periodic Safety Review in order to secure operation to these dates.

BNFL's Chief Executive Norman Askew said: "Everyone knows that these stations have a finite life and there has been speculation as to our intention regarding their operating lives.

The reason we are making this announcement today, well ahead of time, is to provide certainty about the future for all concerned. It will bring clarity to the Company's business plans, explains our plans to our employees and provides us with time to work with the communities around our stations on plans for decommissioning.

These stations were pioneers in the nuclear industry and have made, and are continuing to make, a huge carbon-free contribution to the electricity generating industry. This decision will mean that the reactors will not be run beyond the dates announced. However, both market conditions and technical issues could result in earlier closure."

The lifetime strategy announcement means that the Magnox reprocessing plant (B205) at Sellafield will close once all Magnox fuel has been reprocessed. It is expected that this will be around 2012 although this could be later depending on throughput schedules achieved. Based on the same programme, Magnox fuel production, which is carried out at the Company's fuel manufacturing site at Springfields, near Preston, will cease by 2010.

The end of Magnox reprocessing at Sellafield will significantly reduce discharges even further and virtually eliminate the already low discharges of Technetium. Total liquid discharge impact, which is already minute, will further reduce by more than 80 per cent. In the meantime BNFL will continue to work on abatement technology for Technetium and, if successful, will reduce discharges even sooner.

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Notes to Editors

BNFL took over responsibility for the UK's Magnox power stations in January 1998 when the former Magnox Electric plc was merged into BNFL.

There are three other stations in the Magnox fleet which are currently undergoing decommissioning - Berkeley (which closed in 1989), Hunterston A (1990) and Trawsfynydd (1993).

In December 1999, BNFL announced that the Bradwell Power station in Essex will close in 2002 when it reaches its 40th birthday.

The stations employ on average around 350 people each and we expect job numbers to remain fairly constant for up to a year after cessation of generation. From experience at other Magnox sites, we would expect to retrain around 250 staff for the next phase, defuelling, which usually takes 3-4 years. After this phase we would expect numbers employed at the sites to fall gradually to around 50 people.

B205 is the plant built in 1964 to reprocess fuel from the UK's Magnox power stations. Overseas and UK oxide fuel is reprocessed in the separate, more modern, thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield.

For further information please contact:

BNFL Risley Press Office on 01925 832450/2984/2146
BNFL Magnox Press Office on 01453 813219/812970
BNFL Sellafield Press Office on 01946 785838/42/43/39