THE Torness nuclear power station in East Lothian was conceived at a time when Scotland had no discernible need of its additional capacity. It started feeding the grid when the rest of the industry was about to be privatised. In its first 10 years of active life Torness, too, has been sold into the private sector, as part of British Energy. That name was designed to

reassure. Torness is neither Chernobyl nor Three Mile Island. But even the safest civil nuclear power stations have been tainted in the public mind by operational failures elsewhere and by the equation nuclear equals waste equals dustbin. The nuclear industry has struggled hard to persuade the rest of us that its option remains one of the greenest forms of electricity available. To limited avail. Deep popular suspicions persist. But in the end money, not fear of mass radiation, will probably do for Torness and

similar nuclear installations. The profitability of their operations has been underpinned by must-take contracts, struck in the first instance at heavily subsidised price levels. As these unwind and straight commercial considerations hold sway, Torness will almost inevitably live out its remaining generating life as one of a dying breed. Few, even within the industry, are rushing out plans to build more.