The Shaking

Chapter Forty

Dungeness Power Station. 08.02.

Alan Carter was where few people ever ventured; in between the outer and inner containment vessels of a nuclear reactor. This space was designed as the unit's final safety feature: If a problem occurred in one of the access points where the primary steam circuit or coolant pipes entered the reactor, any leak of radioactive gas or fluid should be captured here and not escape into the wider environment.

Exiting the airlock he took in his surroundings. Normally off-limits when the reactor was running, and accessed only for maintenance during shutdowns, the gap between the two reinforced by tensioned stainless steel cable concrete drums was a narrow one, no more than three metres wide. Alan looked up and saw ladders and mesh catwalks suspended at intervals high above him all the way up to the unlit gloom at the top of the pressure vessel.

Paradoxically for an area so close to such an incredible source of power, the cavity was illuminated only by a scattering of weak LED bulbs which had been fitted to the decades old wire caged bulkhead holders; there just in case it were ever to become necessary for someone to enter here in the event of an emergency - such as now. There was an air of starkly functional sterile inhumanity about the environment; the only hints of colour dotted about the nude concrete and dulled natural metallic hues of the pipework were the bright reds, yellows, and blues of the safety notices. Truth be told being this close to the immensity of it all; the heavy flanges with their protruding, tightly screwed down giant bolt heads where metal pierced the bulwark; the scalp tingling proximity to such elemental forces - the temperatures, pressures and radiation levels approaching those of a fatally inhospitable alien world - gave Alan the willies.

But what really spooked him was the relative silence, even though there was some ambient noise to be heard. If the unit had been operating normally the resonances caused by high pressure gas rubbing along the inside of the large diameter piping should have been so loud as to be unbearable. But instead of external vibrations loosening his bowel it was a dread sense of loneliness, a feeling that he or any other human being did not belong here.

Time was of the essence, so Carter set off for the nearest hooped ladder which would lead him up to the circular walkway he wanted, located half way up the curving wall. Looping the holdall strap over one shoulder he began to ascend carefully.

"How are you doing?" Paul asked. His radio signal relayed through the monolithic construction by a series of repeaters.

"I'm OK; climbing now." Alan spoke into his voice activated transceiver. "What's your situation?"

"We're getting suited as you ordered. The hot spot temperature has increased by 160° in the last five minutes and the flux is intensifying: For God's sake hurry up and launch those beads!" There was an undertone of fear in Glover's voice which Alan had never heard in the years he'd worked with him. If an unflappable character such as Paul was getting rattled, the situation must be getting really bad.

"I'll be there shortly. I've almost reached that level!"

Carter stepped off the ladder onto the catwalk; the boron injector was only a short walk away. Within a few more steps it came into view.

There were two large hoppers containing the beads, each mounted inside a welded framework of steel scaffolding. When triggered a combination of gravity and pressurised carbon dioxide gas would force the tiny boron spheres through the thick pipe penetrating the inner containment into the heart of the reactor, shutting it down permanently. Alan reached the first hopper and checked the gas pressure gauge; it appeared to be fully charged.

"Control; stand by, I'm about to release Hopper One."

"At last! Do it quickly!"

Carter located the red painted large valve wheel. Removing the safety lock and taking a firm grasp he began loosening it. There was a hiss of gas followed by a crackling rumble as the beads rushed along the pipe. The deafening noise sounded like a lorry load of shingle being dumped.