Magnox Reprocessing - 50 not out - Phil Hallington, Sellafield Ltd
International Conference on Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power 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 Generation 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 plutonium • 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 Actinide 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 Technetium 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 electricity generation
• 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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