 The towers will be destroyed in a controlled explosion |
A demolition date has been set to bring down the landmark cooling towers of the Chapelcross nuclear power station. The four famous stacks at the plant, near Annan, are set to be blown up in a controlled explosion at 0900 BST on Sunday 20 May.
The towers are being destroyed as part of the decommissioning process of the nuclear plant, which was built in 1959.
The demolition is expected to take only 10 seconds and generate 25,500 tonnes of rubble.
A 200-metre exclusion zone will be enforced on the day and police road closures will be in place from 0700 BST until 1030 BST in the surrounding area.
Deputy site Director at Chapelcross David Wilson said the scale of the demolition had been a huge operation, two years in the planning.
He said: "We have been planning it for a long time so the chances of anything going wrong are absolutely minimal.
"The internals of the towers have been stripped out and now we're just left with the shell.
"The next couple of weeks will finally see us getting the explosives in place to blow the towers down."
Internet users will be able to see the destruction of the cooling towers broadcast live.
British Nuclear Group has confirmed that a webcam will be used to allow people to watch the event from home.
A DVD is also to be produced of the removal of the four towers.
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The next couple of weeks will finally see us getting the explosives in place to blow the towers down
