WW2 Bomb Discovered During Construction Survey

WW2 Bomb Discovered During Construction Survey

A 500lb bomb that experts have suggested could be from the second world war has been discovered in the Bristol Channel while divers were carrying out a survey for the construction of a new power station near Hinkley Point.

According to the BBC, the ordnance was discovered 2.5 nautical miles off the coast in the Bristol Channel around eight metres below the surface. It has already been destroyed in a controlled explosion.

It’s believed that the bomb could have been used by the Royal Navy as part of a practice bombing exercises, as this particular part of the coast around Lilstock Range – just west of Steart point and Bridgwater in Somerset – was routinely used for such procedures.

EDF Energy confirmed that the discovery was made while divers were checking the seabed before construction can begin on the main cooling water tunnels for the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

The company’s David Eccles was quoted by the news source as saying: “We have put a cordon zone around the area and are working closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and the Royal Navy.”

Back in March, EDF revealed the progress that has been made on Hinkley Point C thus far, noting that the first concrete has now been poured for the power station galleries and three million cubic metres of earth has already been moved – more than half of the total.

These galleries form a network of connected tunnels to carry cabling an dpipes, some of the first permanent structures to be built on the table. Some 1,600 workers are on site every day, with three million tonnes of concrete and 230,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement set to be used in the construction of the station.

Construction of the building set to house the first reactor at the site is expected to begin in 2019, when concrete will be poured to make the reactor platform. Other progress includes construction of the first two tower cranes, the building of the spray batching plant to produce a finer quality of concrete, and progress on the sea wall – which is to provide a barrier between the coastline and the power station.

Philippe Bordarier, project director, said at the time: “We’re making good progress on many fronts as a result of the successful collaboration between all our teams … We are very proud to be building the first new nuclear power station in a generation, which will provide the UK with reliable, affordable, low carbon electricity for the future.”

The company has also just purchased 1 wind farm sites in Scotland from Partnerships for Renewables, which have a potential capacity of 600MW. Planning consent is already in place for three of the sites, while seven are in development and one is in the planning system at the moment.

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