Nuclear energy generation has always been hotly debated and this seems unlikely to change with the Government's controversial agreement with EDF over the new development at Hinkley Point. Although still in the headlines today, nuclear power has been contributing to the UK's energy mix since 1956, when the first commercial nuclear reactor opened at Windscale.
This factsheet is intended to focus on the environmentally-related concerns around nuclear energy generation, it does not cover other, non-environmental issues such as proliferation or energy security.
