Reprocessing - 50 not out - Phil Hallington, Ltd

International Conference on Management of Spent Fuel from Reactors - An Integrated Approach to the Back-End of the Fuel Cycle CN-226 15 – 19 June 2015

V1 The origins of Magnox Reprocessing

• Fuel

• Cladding

• Magnox Programme

• Early days

• Overseas Business

2 50 years in overview

1940s/50s 1960s/70s 1980s 1990s 2000s

•True • Royal Ordnance • Waste stored safely • Main expansion of • Decommissioning commercialisation of Factory developed pending treatment site gathering pace reprocessing -Thorp into Windscale site to create • Storage capacity • Major waste comes online • Sellafield landscape

for the nuclear extended incrementally treatment focus changing forever •Waste arising from deterrent processes treated in • Coarse segregation of • Environmental • NDA formed ‘ ’ • Civil programme waste arising from impact substantially real time begins. The world’s process reduced • NMP become Parent •Product waste forms first commercial Body Organisation compatible with plant opened at • Magnox reprocessing • Decommissioning disposal concepts Calder Hall. start programme started

• No real plan for future •Health and safety decommissioning executive reports

3 Plant interactions

4 Separation Process

5 Charge Machine & Dissolver

Reflux condenser

6 Mixer-Settlers

7 Plant construction

8 Press release from July 1964

9 Magnox Operation

10 Maintaining Nuclear Safety

• Modern Safety Case

• Plant upgrades

• Improving flowsheet performance

• Site context

11 Spent Fuel Storage • Open Ponds

• pH7

• Covered Ponds

• pH11.3 – pH13

• Containers

• Waste treatment

12 Improved site infrastructure

Name Effective Function Date Salt-Evaporator facility 1984 Minimise the volume of MA effluent Site Ion Exchange, Abate the predominating Caesium and Strontium Effluent Treatment Plant 1985 content of LA HIGH RISK - beta effluents (SIXEP) Removal of alpha activity from current arisings Enhanced 1994 and historic stocks of actinide-containing MA Removal Plant (EARP) effluents and LA HIGH RISK - alpha effluents Segregated Effluent Pre-discharge screening, neutralisation and 1994 Treatment Plant (SETP) solids-removal of LA LOW RISK effluents Reduce marine discharges of by ~ Diversion of medium- 2004 90% by consigning Tc-rich MA effluents into the active concentrate HA liquid waste treatment route Reduces the burden on the downstream effluent Low iron flowsheet 2010 process

13 Environmental impact –

Alpha discharges from Liquid Effluents

1990’s 2000’s 2010’s 2020’s

1970’s 1980’s 1990’s 2000’s 2010’s 2020’s

14 Environmental impact –

Beta discharges from Liquid Effluents

1990’s 2000’s 2010’s 2020’s

1970’s 1980’s 1990’s 2000’s 2010’s 2020’s

15 Magnox Operating Programme

• NDA

• Holistic approach

• End of life issues

• NO NEW LEGACY http://www.nda.gov.uk/publication/the-magnox-operating-programme-mop9-july-2012/

16 50 Years of Success

• Nuclear skills • Knowledge • Dedication

17 Finish the Mission with Pride

• Approximately 1,500te of fuel left to reprocess

• Planning for POCO

• Enhanced Human Performance Challenges

• Equipment reliability

18 Contingencies

• Fuel drying

• Modular approach to implementation

19 Summary • Hugely successful programme of spent fuel management supporting low carbon

• Safety and reliability sustained over half a century

• Continued development against modern requirements

• Focus now on the end of mission

• Source of great pride for our workforce and the Industry

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