New Books Network Tom Bolton, "Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations" (Strange Attractor, 2025)
Feb 11, 2026
Tom Bolton, writer of Atomic Albion, explores Britain’s sixteen nuclear power stations and their imprint on landscape and culture. He recounts coast-to-coast visits, the entwined history of civilian reactors and weapons, access and security, decommissioning and waste dilemmas. He also examines near-misses, site reuse, and debates over new small modular reactors.
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Remote Sites Became Ecological Hotspots
- Many coastal and remote sites were chosen for safety but later proved to be ecologically valuable and irreplaceable.
- Placing reactors on perceived wastelands created long-term environmental paradoxes.
Jaw-Dropping Interiors And Managed Tours
- At Torness Bolton signed an NDA to tour vast interior turbine spaces that exceeded Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.
- He describes being guided by EDF staff whose role mixes education and recruitment.
Decommissioning Spans Centuries
- Decommissioning is long and costly; reactors need roughly 150 years of staged work and cooling before full dismantling.
- Nuclear creates multigenerational obligations unlike most public projects.
