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Home , Dounreay, Fission barrier, Generation II reactor, Magnox Ltd, Nuclear decommissioning, Nuclear fuel

ISSUE 10 2012

INSIGHT into

Delivering progress across the UK WASTE MANAGEMENT Contents

p2 and RSRL £4-5 billion competition competition p3 Research Board Chair’s view under way p4-5 Remote technology in action The formal process is now under way to appoint p6 Cumbrian councils’ decision

p7 Sweden’s underground lab a new Parent Body Organisation for the two

p8-9 New opportunities on track companies that operate 12 of the NDA’s historic

p10-11 shaft and silo nuclear sites. clean-up

p12 Marine park

p13 Storage guidance launch

p14-15 Dragon restarts

p16 Wylfa keeps generating

p17 Check out these barcodes

p18-19 Asbestos removed

p20 Ponds progress

Valued at £4-5 billion over the next seven The two RSRL sites at Harwell and years, the contract represents one of the are former research centres UK’s largest public procurement exercises that housed some of the UK’s earliest Front cover: Asbestos stripping and will see ownership of and experimental reactors but are well requires complete protection for Research Sites Restoration Ltd transfer advanced in their decommissioning workers, page 18-19 to a new organisation with the skills and programmes. RSRL is currently owned experience to take decommissioning by Babcock International Group. forward. Steve Dixon, the NDA’s Competition Welcome to the autumn Following a bidders’ conference in Manager, said: “The Magnox and RSRL 2012 edition of Insight, the Manchester for interested organisations sites played a unique role in the UK’s news magazine where we aim and the submission of pre-qualifi cation pioneering nuclear past and we are to provide a snapshot of some questionnaires, the next step in the two- seeking to ensure they continue to forge of the developments across year process will be an invitation to take an important path in demonstrating the the NDA estate. part in a period of dialogue with the NDA. very best in decommissioning practice.” Competition is central to the NDA’s Earlier this year, ownership of Dounreay If you have any comments, strategy for securing world-class Site Restoration Limited which operates please contact the editor experience. The new PBO will oversee the NDA’s Dounreay site in Deborah Ward on management of decommissioning was transferred to a specially created 01925 832280 or activities, taking ownership of shares in the private-sector consortium, Babcock [email protected] two SLCs for the period of the contract, Dounreay Partnership. The new contract and key PBO staff will be seconded in to has created the opportunity to secure provide business leadership, innovation savings of more than £1 billion for the and ensure value for money. UK taxpayer and cut up to 16 years off decommissioning timeframes. Nine of the Magnox sites are in various stages of decommissioning, while Wylfa on Anglesey, is still generating Photograph: Head of Competition but is expected to cease generation by Graeme Rankin addresses the bidders’ 2014. Magnox Ltd is currently owned by conference. EnergySolutions. 2 GUEST VIEWPOINT

Last year, Stan Gordelier, former Head of the Nuclear Development Division of The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency, became the fi rst independent Chair of the NDA’s restructured Research Board. He has more than 40 years experience in the nuclear sector and is a specialist in waste management and decommissioning.

Research is vital – and we need more of it

Let me start with a little personal refl ection. Given the scale of UK liabilities (NDA this has been immensely improved by the I started my professional career with 10 liabilities alone are currently estimated at Board and the work of the Nuclear Waste years nuclear energy research. Many around £50 billion in discounted terms), Research Forum. years and roles later I spent 15 years in anything that can be done to improve This new approach for the UK is in line senior positions in waste management and safety and environmental performance and with the conclusions of last year’s hard- decommissioning. So for me it was a great reduce costs is extremely benefi cial. hitting House of Lords report, which pleasure to be invited to chair the NDA’s Research and Development is the key to recommended that more must be done to Research Board, allowing me to bring improvement in each of these areas, and develop a long-term strategy for nuclear these two career ends together. Not only this impacts far more than just clearing R&D, including a roadmap to close that, of course, but R&D in this area is so up the past. If the UK is to achieve research gaps and re-establish the UK’s important. its objective of a signifi cant nuclear international credentials. contribution to the nation’s energy mix The report noted that the UK’s existing again, we must demonstrate effective strengths were based on past investments management capability for the new that would soon be depleted as many liabilities that will arise. experts reach the end of their careers. In this context it is important to emphasise We are fully aware of this and are keen that the Research Board, while focused to inspire new blood into R&D, building on the NDA mission, now also takes a a generation of experts who will play wider view across the UK as a whole to an important role in ensuring that the help ensure alignment. Our responsibilities UK remains a vital player in the global cover the legacy facilities that form the nuclear industry, supporting job creation core of the NDA’s mission, together with and reducing our reliance on imported the current fl eet of still-generating plants technology. and defence-related facilities. Our interests The Board, originally formed in 2006, also extend to decommissioning the next was restructured in 2011 to include generation of nuclear plants that support representatives from all across the UK the Government’s long-term vision for UK nuclear sector and the international energy provision. community, in recognition of its much Our intent is to ensure that the right work is strengthened remit. It is a measure of its carried out, with funding focused on areas important role, and the high reputation of greatest priority, bringing together the of the NDA, that all of those invited to be diverse but individual strands of research members accepted the invitation. Let me that have hitherto been conducted fi nish by expressing my sincere thanks to independently. those members for their help and support in this important work. When, after my second period on the UKAEA Board, I left the UK to work with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency in Stan Gordelier, former Head of the Paris, there was no such linkage. On my Nuclear Development Division of the return, it is a great pleasure to see how OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

“Building a generation of experts who will play an important role in ensuring that the UK remains a vital player in the global nuclear industry” INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 3 Spotlight on Research and Development

Sellafield excited by remote possibilities The challenges at Sellafi eld are numerous, complex and hazardous, with environments that often rule out sending in a human taskforce.

Instead, solutions must be developed successfully used in both production Dr Melanie Brownridge, NDA Head that allow machines to do the dirty plants and decommissioning operations. of R&D, said: “These examples work and ensure workers remain safe. Typical examples include remotely demonstrate the importance of robust Wherever possible, the approach is to operated vehicles for surveying work, technical underpinning to deliver use tried and tested technology adapted master-slave manipulators (hand-like decommissioning. Sellafi eld R&D from other industries, rather then mechanisms controlled by an operator) spans early academic research through bespoke equipment which is expensive and takes time to develop. working in enclosed cells, remote diggers to development in adapting novel for demolition and robots used more technologies to the nuclear market Many innovations involve robotics, commonly in car manufacturing. and technology transfer from other or remote technologies, which are industries.”

Among the ongoing projects being developed are four promising applications that have the potential to support work in high- areas.

Welcome to a virtual world

Off-the-shelf gaming technology is data, photographs and plant items. This being used to help decommission offers Sellafi eld the ability to build a redundant facilities. Virtual environments walkthrough of any plant. that replicate a number of Sellafi eld “The potential applications are huge; plants have already been constructed. in particular it’s an effective means of These enable a user to simulate plant providing plant familiarisation, operator walkthroughs from their own PC, similar training and job planning. All of this can to a conventional computer game – but be done safely in front of a computer without the monsters! screen, which is particularly valuable Steve Hepworth, Decommissioning where the reality would be to visit a high- Technical Manager, said: “We’ve built radiation area.” virtual environments using gaming software to which we’ve attached plant

Roundabout way to track radiation

A new radiation detection device has also gloveboxes and hard-to-access facilities been trialled at Sellafi eld which shows undergoing decommissioning.” tremendous promise. The UK’s National The RadBall® is a passive device Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) developed the needing no source and can be RadBall® which uses innovative radiation- deployed into a high-radiation area by sensitive materials to identify radiation a robot or manually in a lower-activity sources. area. It is about the size of a grapefruit Phil Reeve, Head of Decommissioning and contains layers of radiation-sensitive Technical, said: “The RadBall® trial fi lms which change to a rather fetching results at Sellafi eld have already green opaque colour when exposed to demonstrated that it could be valuable radiation. The opaque tracks on the fi lm help in our mission to clean up the site. are used to measure the direction and It could be used to identify radiation intensity of the radiation. hazards in enclosed cells, nuclear stores,

Photographs: Above, Steve Hepworth uses gaming software to create a virtual world. Below, the radiation-detecting Radball is around the size of a grapefruit. 4 Mini high-fl ier

In addition, Sellafi eld Ltd is sponsoring a PhD student at the University of Warwick’s Mobile Robotics Department to develop the fi rst remotely operated fl ying vehicle with the capability to map its surroundings.

It’s known as a hexacopter, is less than a metre wide and is small enough to be fl own into many of the huge nuclear buildings at Sellafi eld. It has six separate rotors on the end of six arms, which makes the hexacopter extremely manoeuvrable. The fl ying robot can effectively scan the inside of a building and be used to detect radiation levels. This visual inspection information can then be used to plan how best to decommission and dismantle redundant nuclear facilities.

A commercially available hexacopter was adapted to enable it to be fl own out of direct line of sight of the operator through the use of a stereo camera visor – the robot’s eyes. The hexacopter has a sort of 3D compass to determine its position in space using its on-board laser scanning sensors to continually create a map of its surrounding environment.

Positively climbing the wall

And a new breed of wall-climbing robots could form part of the toolkit for overcoming decommissioning challenges. The WallRover™ has a unique wall-climbing ability and signifi cant payload capacity, which makes it extremely useful for remote inspection and characterisation duties.

The current demonstrator model, developed by Smith Engineering of Maryport, is equipped with a video camera and miniature gamma spectrometer and can access diffi cult-to-reach places. In theory any equipment could be mounted and remotely deployed via a WallRover™ unit, provided it weighs less than 5kg.

Alex Jenkins, Decontamination Centre of Expertise, said: “The time and cost savings associated with not having to scaffold and platform areas requiring survey are signifi cant and of course this technology will greatly reduce, or even avoid completely, the worker dose uptake associated with these activities.”

Photographs: Above, hexacopter with Stefan Winkvist and tutor Emma Rushforth. Below, Sylvain du Tremblay and Alex Jenkins with the wall-climbing robot. 5 Geological Disposal Facility

Cumbrian councils say more work needed before nuclear waste decision Three Cumbrian councils are asking the Government for further information before deciding whether to move to the next phase in a search for a site that could potentially host a repository for the country’s higher activity .

Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland The councils, along with other Cumbrian inviting reviews by independent experts. Borough Council and Cumbria County organisations, have been involved in the A fi nal report in July 2012 set out its Council were expected to make a West Cumbria Managing Radioactive opinions and advice on issues involved decision this month on whether to allow Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership to in taking part in the search for a site. detailed studies and investigations to consider whether to enter the siting However, the Partnership did not make take place in Allerdale or Copeland, but process for a Geological Disposal a recommendation about whether the have opted for a deferral until January Facility. The Councils started the councils should take part in that process. 2013. During this time they will be early stages of this conversation with For further information, visit seeking clarifi cation from the Department Government because a large amount of www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) the country’s radioactive waste is already on a number of issues. stored at Sellafi eld. The Government remains keen to talk to any local authority that wants to fi nd In a letter to Baroness Verma, In addition to an extensive out more about the benefi ts of hosting a Parliamentary Under Secretary at DECC, communications and engagement repository for higher activity radioactive the Councils cited community benefi ts, programme, the Partnership has spent waste. the right of withdrawal and suitable more than three years considering geology as the key issues for which reports, hearing from experts, further information was required. commissioning independent research and

North Wales MP visits Trawsfynydd Hywel Williams, Plaid Cymru MP for the Westminster constituency of Arfon, recently made his second visit to the Trawsfynydd site.

Although Trawsfynydd lies outside Arfon, “Indeed, the very long-term nature of the a number of employees working on the project tends to mask the extensive work site live in Hywel’s constituency. that is continuingly going on there.

The seat is situated between the two “On my visit I was impressed by the constituencies that are home to Wylfa care and inventiveness of the work (Ynys Mon) and Trawsfynydd (Dwyfor being done at the site, and the obvious Meirionnydd). commitment of the workforce.

Hywel is a member of the House of “Part of the task appears just to be Commons Science and Technology straightforward construction and demolition. Select Committee. However this is combined with novel work requiring the utmost delicacy and His fi rst viewing of the site took place attention to detail. when he was a schoolboy more than 40 years ago. “I am very glad to have had the opportunity to revisit Trawsfynydd after After visiting the ILW processing plants Photograph: Outside the waste store are, all these years!” and one of the safestore buildings, Hywel from the left, Site Director Dave Wilson, said: “Trawsfynydd has been part of our The visit was hosted by Site Director Dave Cabrera, John Idris Jones, MP landscape for decades and one tends to Dave Wilson and joined by Interim Chair Hywel Williams and Robbie Huston from pass it without a thought. of the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone John the NDA Idris Jones.

6 experiments run bySKBatthelaboratory. technical information andresults from enabling access toscienti Agreement agreement –aninternational Directorate joiningtheÄspöGeneral Radioactive Waste Management The visitwasorganised tomarkthe on afullscale.” radioactive wasteinareal environment, solutions togeologicaldisposalof designed totest“different technical of spentfuel.Theresearch facilityis the laboratory contributetoSKBleading Company (SKB)in1995,projects atthe Nuclear FuelandWaste Management Designed andbuiltbytheSwedish laboratory inSweden. to theÄspöunderground research Manager, andmyself recently travelled Specialist; AmyYoung, Speci Design; AlexCarter, PostClosure Safety of Research; SteveReece,Head of Director ofScience;JonMartin, Head Directorate includingNeil Smart, Radioactive Waste Management A smallgroup ofstaff from our role, joinedcolleaguestotourauniqueSwedishfacility. obtained aPhDinbiogeochemistryand,aspartofhisnew Management Directorate At26,Robrecently (RWMD). of manynewrecruits tojointheNDA’s Radioactive Waste Rob Whittleston,Research Manager–Geosciences,isone Visiting teaminatthe deepend fi eld inimplementingthedisposal fi c and c fi cation said: “Thevisit washighlybene RWMD Science Director NeilSmart collaboration forthefuture. enthusiastic discussionsonincreased Stockholm, thevisitconcluded with toSKBheadquartersat Returning surrounding geologicaldisposal. the technicalandengineeringchallenges into SKB’s progress intacklingmanyof run atÄspöprovide animpressive insight prototype repository, theexperiments concrete andclaybarriers,toafull-scale chemical properties ofthehostrock, facility. From small-scaletestingofthe components ofageologicaldisposal to investigatethemanydifferent numerous experimentsdesigned by representatives from SKB,viewed nearly 500metres, ourgroup, hosted Travelling by elevatortoadepthof France, Finland,JapanandCanada. globally withsisterorganisations from forum todiscussresearch technical informationmeetings,anideal networksthroughinternational regular The agreement alsoprovides accessto fi ndings fi cial to cial the underground facility. shown teamare Photograph: The RWMD Further information:www.skb.se programme. supporting theneedsofUK disposal to advanceresearch anddevelopment development inRWMD’s keymission This represents asigni programmes withinthefacilityitself. of RWMD leadingUK-speci therefore raisestheexcitingprospect programme. AccesstotheÄspösite the challengesfacingSwedish many innovativesolutionstomeet scale, whichhavealready produced concepts onanenvironmentally relevant of conductingexperimentstotest The visithighlightedtheadvantages UK-based underground operations.” skills andexperienceinanticipationof important methodofdevelopingour seconded toÄspö.Thiswouldbean opportunity forRWMD staff tobe welcome. We discussed thepotential us andtheSKBteammadefeelvery fi cant fi c research c 7 INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 Nuclear Materials spotlight on

Rail terminal improvement could cut lorryloads Following a £multi-million refurbishment, the siding at Georgemas Junction in Caithness could become an important regional rail freight hub for the north of .

The new railhead, completed earlier this DRS Communications Manager Austen Scrabster Harbour, which is currently year, has been vital to enable nuclear Skinner said: “We have already met undergoing an NDA-funded major materials to be moved by road from business and community leaders, including redevelopment programme that will Dounreay and transferred by train to representatives from Caithness Transport have the capacity to support oil and gas Sellafi eld, however, it will also be made Forum, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, developments in the Pentland Firth, as available for commercial freight movements. Dounreay site stakeholders group and well as the marine renewables industry. Islands Council to explore the The North rail line runs from The Georgemas railhead upgrade includes possibilities for commercial traffi c.” Inverness to Wick and where it the installation of a fi xed crane capable terminates. John Green, Chairman of Caithness of lifting more than 100 tonnes, a new Transport Forum added: “We welcome concrete platform and welfare facilities. The NDA’s Head of Programme at the investment that has been made Dounreay, Nigel Lowe, said: “The NDA DRS, based in Carlisle, specialises in at Georgemas and look forward to recognised that the local community moving and has clocked seeing long-term local benefi ts from its had been lobbying for a rail freight up more than 12 million miles moving commercialisation. terminal for many years because of the nuclear safely across the UK. The sustainable economic development “I understand that DRS is talking to a freight specialist also moves millions of potential associated with such a facility. diverse range of businesses about taking tonnes of non-nuclear freight, including We hope it will be a good example freight into the north of Scotland, but also consumer goods and high-value products. of gaining maximum impact from there is now huge potential for using rail According to the Rail Freight Operators our investment in the clean-up of the to export goods from the region to other Association, each train would remove Dounreay site.” parts of the UK and onward into Europe.” up to 70 lorries from the roads, while The NDA’s subsidiary Direct Rail Services He said that the increased use of rail reducing congestion and cutting carbon (DRS) looked at three sites in Caithness would help to relieve pressure on the dioxide emissions. before concluding that Georgemas was busy A9 trunk road. the most viable, and the construction Georgemas is approximately 15 miles work was carried out between March Photograph: A flask arrives by road for from Dounreay and just eight miles from and July this year. loading at the railhead. 8 Transport plays vital role Overseas contracts Part of Dounreay once used to supply in site closure and recycle specialist . A series of chemical plants serviced The removal of nuclear fuel and foreign radioactive the three reactors, as well as research waste is a small but important part of the work reactors in the UK and more than a dozen countries world-wide. needed to close Dounreay. These plants recycled used fuel, dissolving the elements in acid and separating the re-usable nuclear materials from the radioactive waste.

Between 1958 and 1996, the materials test reactor reprocessing plant alone dissolved almost 13,000 fuel elements, including 4,000 from Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.

By 1996, when one of the plants broke down, more than 800 elements from overseas had been reprocessed, with less than a tonne of spent fuel from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and France still to be done.

In 2001, the UK Government decided not to repair the reprocessing plant.

When the NDA took over the Scottish site Another close collaboration is between Today, a small but important part of from the UK Atomic Energy Authority in DRSL and INS, a subsidiary of the NDA, the closure programme is reaching 2005, it inherited approximately 100 tonnes to enable foreign reactor operators to agreements with historic customers to of nuclear fuel, plus contractual obligations collect their waste from reprocessing close their contracts. to return several hundred tonnes of carried out historically at the site. waste to former customers who had sent Dounreay no longer has plants to The fi rst of 123 drums destined for their fuel to Dounreay in the 1990s. recycle the remaining spent fuel and Belgium was delivered safely by INS at the contracts do not allow it to be Different parts of the NDA estate have the end of August. returned untreated. been working together on the carefully INS is in discussion with other planned removal of materials. INS, an NDA subsidiary, is now operators in Australia, Netherlands responsible for concluding these NDA led a consultation and public and Germany who also sent fuel to contracts. The waste associated with engagement around its strategy of co- Dounreay historically for reprocessing. the contracts represents two per location for the nuclear it inherited. These contracts require the waste to cent of all the higher activity waste at be returned in accordance with UK Following a public engagement Dounreay. Government undertakings. programme, a decision was taken in late In 2012, the Scottish and UK 2011 to begin removing almost half the Nigel Lowe, the NDA’s Head of Governments decided INS could offer inventory – the breeder produced in the Programme at Dounreay, said: “We’re waste substitution in its negotiations Dounreay Fast Reactor – and transfer it to working closely with the site, the former to close out these contracts. Sellafi eld for reprocessing. A decision on customers and a variety of government the remaining fuel is due later this year. bodies to ensure these contracts are Customers will be sent an amount of closed out satisfactorily and the return- Sending the breeder to Sellafi eld requires new fuel and waste from UK stocks, of-waste obligations are met.” close collaboration between the SLCs, equivalent to what would have Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and been produced if the fuel had been Sellafi eld Sites Ltd, as well as the train reprocessed, with the UK retaining the operator DRS and Magnox Sites Ltd for spent fuel. Photographs: use of the transport containers. Top left, a flask arrives by road for loading The newly completed Georgemas at the railhead. freight terminal was constructed to Top right, a drum of the kind used for enable the transfer.

delivering waste to Belgium. INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 9 Site Restoration

Plans take shape for world’s deepest nuclear clean-up Plans for the world’s deepest nuclear clean-up have been on public display ahead of an application for permission to start construction work next year.

The plans show how radioactive waste An estimated 1,500 tonnes of radioactive operated grabs, water treatment, is to be removed from two underground waste was consigned to the two facilities analysis and monitoring. facilities – a vertical shaft 65 metres deep between 1957 and 1998. They will solidify the processed waste and a nearby vault set nine metres into Radiation levels are too high for man- in a type of container that is new to the ground – as part of the closure of the entry to either facility, so robotic Dounreay but proven by the nuclear Dounreay site. equipment will be used to retrieve, industry in other parts of the world. The water-fi lled shaft and silo were analyse, shred and package the waste. The use of boxes made from , lead once used for radioactive waste from Separate headworks and waste- and concrete will provide shielding from some of Britain’s earliest experiments processing facilities will be built above harmful radiation and remove the need with nuclear energy. each facility. to build a heavily shielded store for the Their clean-out is a key part of the site previous design of containers. This will A 60-strong team is now working on closure contract awarded by the NDA to save tens of millions of pounds in design the project, with employment levels the Babcock Dounreay Partnership (BDP) and build costs. expected to peak at about 200 during earlier this year. the construction phase in 2013-16. The aim is to complete both facilities by The project team is looking wherever 2021, several years earlier than previous possible to use technology already forecasts and using innovation in areas proven elsewhere such as remote such as waste packaging to reduce costs. Image: The shaft and silo are located just vehicles, cranes, shredders, remotely- in front of the sphere.

10 be back- Once emptied, bothfacilitieswillthen of 2013andtake uptothree years. scheduled tobegininthesecond half Subject toconsent,construction is Highland Councilattheendof October. before makingaformalapplicationtothe seek feedbackfrom thecommunity, information of neighbouring villageReayandintheThurso DSRL puttheplansondisplayin substantial costsavingstotheNDA.” earlier thanprevious estimatesandoffers future generations.Thisissigni condition thatdonotposeahazard to above ground andbothfacilitiesleftina safely packagedforlong-termstorage “By 2021,weaimtohaveallthewaste technology withinnovationindesign. by combiningproven, off-the-shelf and atlowercostthanpreviously thought decommissioning onanearliertimescale “We believewecandeliver the and oneoftheprioritiesforNDAinUK. the biggestclean-upchallengesinEurope the shaftandsiloatDounreay isone of Project director BoWiersaid:“Emptying licence companyacquired byBDP. by Dounreay SiteRestoration Ltd,thesite The project isbeingmanaged fortheNDA shaft andsilo. decommissioning andback- radiation zones,majorconstruction,plant robotics capableofoperating inhigh such ascranestotheprocurement of design andbuildofmechanicalsystems involved incontractsrangingfrom the About 20companiesare likelytobe fi lled. fi ce duringSeptember, to fi lling of the lling ofthe fi cantly ground downuntilitwas Specialist grout from Swedenwas was grouted. contaminated, thesurrounding rock as wasteisretrieved, andbecoming To prevent groundwater seeping in 1998. in was takenbytheUKGovernment A decisiontoemptybothfacilities in 1977followinganexplosion. All consignmentstotheshafthalted routine service. allow theshafttobetakenoutof into useasanILW store in1971to concrete-lined bunker-wasbrought The wetsilo-anengineered, intermediate levelwaste. routinely usedforunconditioned take radioactivewasteandwas In 1958,theshaftwaslicensedto unlined. from theshaft,whichismostly A concrete plugseparatesthetunnel pumping outgroundwater. the tunnel,forremoving spoilandfor excavation equipmentinandoutof The shaftwasusedtotransfer be discharged. low-active radioactiveef building ofatunnel,through which The shaftwassunktoenablethe waste Shaft usedfor unconditioned ILW Left, thesilowas alsousedfor use asawastefacility anexplosionended the shaft’sCentre, shaft Top, wastehasaccumulatedin the Photographs: the retrievals phase. work wascarriedouttoprepare for a numberofindustryawards. Further The project, completedin2008,won hardened. fi boreholes andsqueezed into the than toothpaste,injectedthrough ssures around theshaftwhere it fl uent would uent fi ner 11 INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 Skills and investment

Marine energy set to flow The re-developed Scrabster Harbour will play a key role in Scotland’s fi rst park, launched earlier this year by the Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker.

The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park is intended to enhance the development of renewables, already well established in the region.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the powerful tides and waves racing through the Firth have the potential to provide up to 27GW of power in the UK alone by 2050, equivalent to the output from eight -fi red power stations.

Mr Barker made the announcement at the end of July during a visit to Caithness when he visited Scrabster and the new Energy, Technology and Engineering ???Centre (ETEC) at North Highland College in Thurso.

Scrabster???? harbour has been upgraded in Designation as a marine energy a £21.5 million scheme, supported by park is intended to raise the region’s £2 million from the NDA’s socio-economic international profi le and its reputation as budget, to bring a deep-water channel a world leader in the fi eld. The park also to a new multi-functional pier, additional includes the world-leading European Photographs: lay-down areas at the quayside with Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, heavy lifting facilities and an improved which attracts developers from across Top, from the left, Caithness and North range of services, including fuel and the world and where testing of a range of Sutherland Regeneration Partnership water at each berth. wave and tidal energy devices is already Chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver, Caithness well under way. businessman William Calder, Greg The facilities will help to support the Barker, NDA Director of Communications continued growth of marine energy A range of public and private-sector Jon Phillips and MP John Thurso. industries as well as positioning organisations are involved in collaborative Scrabster as the most northerly partnerships to develop the park, including Above, Scrabster Harbour will support mainland port supporting the oil and Scottish Government, the NDA, the Orkney the marine energy industries, as well as gas fi elds that are opening up in the Islands and Highland Councils, and the oil and gas developments in the Pentland Atlantic and North Sea. Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Firth. 412 Industry Guidance set for launch Three years of collaborative work across the nuclear industry have led to the compilation of a comprehensive set of guidelines on the interim storage of Higher Activity Waste (HAW) packages.

Aimed at all organisations and businesses involved in nuclear operations and decommissioning, the Industry Guidance for Interim Storage of HAW Packages addresses wide-ranging technical issues associated with both storing the packages and the stores. Currently in the fi nal stages of preparation, the documents will be available on the NDA’s website following publication towards the end of November 2012.

At a recent seminar for store operators in Penrith, representatives from the industry, Government, the Regulators and the International Atomic Energy Authority discussed practical implementation of the Guidance, including monitoring temperature and humidity in stores, preventing package , store design, record-keeping and emerging monitoring technologies.

Work on the Guidance brought together, for the fi rst time, store operators from the public and private sectors, as well as defence, to share differing experiences, explore good practice and pinpoint areas for further As the location and timeframe for the GDF The NDA subsequently set up a cross- research. Technical aspects of the Guidance are still subject to future decision-making, industry Integrated Project Team (IPT) were supported by substantial underpinning waste from dismantled facilities and those comprising representatives from all the research, primarily funded by the NDA’s currently undergoing decommissioning, current SLCs and the wider nuclear industry, Direct Research Portfolio. must be kept in robust, corrosion-resistant with support from the regulators, to deliver James McKinney, NDA’s Head of Integrated packages over the decades until disposal the Guidance which has undergone Waste Management, said: “Many people becomes available. In line with UK and a programme of ‘road-testing’ and have so far been involved in compiling the Scottish Policies and recommendations by independent peer review over the last 12 Guidance over three years and feedback the Government’s Committee on Radioactive months. from the grassroots indicates that it is already Waste Management (CoRWM), the storage The cross-industry Store Operations Forum, providing a valuable toolkit.” arrangements will need to remain effective set up to assist in developing the Guidance, for a period of at least 100 years. The Guidance takes account of the need for continues to meet with the intention of waste packages to remain safe and secure The Guidance represents an integrated updating and refi ning the contents to take until they can be transferred to a permanent approach to storage with toolkits to account of new developments. disposal facility. In England and Wales, fi nal assist future store designs and improve Dave Stretton, IPT Lead, added: “Keeping disposal will be to the Geological Disposal existing store operations, including the Guidance live and relevant will ensure it Facility (GDF). Scottish Government policy is package performance criteria, monitoring remains fi t-for-purpose. We are very grateful for long-term management in near-surface technologies and maintaining disposability. for all the contributions that have enabled us facilities. Development of the Guidance arose from to compile the integrated approach, and will The focus is on ILW which arises at most a CoRWM recommendation for better continue to welcome feedback.” nuclear sites rather than HLW, which is strategic co-ordination across all UK nuclear stored only at Sellafi eld. However, the industry organisations and for additional principles apply to all conditioned wastes in work to demonstrate the robustness of long-term storage. Around 60,000 packages interim storage arrangements in the of are currently stored on NDA sites, with tens the disposal uncertainties. The NDA’s 2009 of thousands more anticipated as operational UK Higher Radioactivity Wastes Storage Review also recognised the importance of an power stations close down and legacy Photograph: An interim storage facility on integrated, standard approach to storage. facilities are decommissioned. the Sellafield site INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 513 Site restoration

spotlight on “Our main challenge lies in the uniqueness of the reactor,” Tony said. “There’s no decommissioning manual applicable to Dragon, and there’s no other reactor exactly like it in the world to benchmark from.”

Tony’s team have had to come up with innovative solutions for removing each piece of plant and equipment.

“We were amazed at how radiologically clean it was. After almost half a century, there were still and activation products, but not as much as originally anticipated. It was a reminder to us of just how well Dragon had been engineered and how advanced its design was, for its time,” he added.

Recently, the clean-up plant has been removed. The plant was used to clean impurities and fi ssion products from the helium coolant, a process which took seven months.

The plant consisted of three hot plants and three cold plants, plus other parts and a myriad of pipework – all inside a space measuring just nine square metres and12 metres deep.

Working in such a confi ned area was just one of the challenges, as Tony explained. “First, the fl oor beams that covered the plant were lifted. This involved the removal of lead and steel shot used as shielding. The three hot plants were the fi rst out – where we encountered an unexpected hazard: asbestos. This had to be removed by a specialist contractor and the plant size-reduced ready for disposal.

“Next, each of the three cold plants were removed and reduced in size. Here we came across another challenge: Challenges overcome powdery perlite insulation material. This was particularly diffi cult, requiring as Dragon work restarts the innovative use of a huge industrial vacuum cleaner system.”

Work has restarted on taking apart one of As well as the helium clean-up plant Winfrith’s most iconic features, the unique Dragon removal, a number of signifi cant decommissioning tasks have taken high temperature gas cooled reactor. place, mostly items within the bio-shield including, the 6 primary gas circulators, Decommissioning fi rst began in 2005, The programme is progressing well, the fuel transfer fl ask, canning facility and then halted in 2007 and restarted in meeting targets for time, quality, cost the fuel charge machine which formed October 2011. and – most importantly – safety. “We’ve the top of the reactor pressure vessel. so far clocked up 45,000 hours without The fi rst phase, now under way, will see a single lost-time incident,” said Tony The second phase will involve the decommissioning and removal of all Smith, Project Manager for Research decommissioning of the reactor core and plant and ancillary equipment, except the Sites Restoration Ltd. pressure vessel. reactor itself. 14 Background

The Dragon complex operated successfully from 1964-1976.

It was widely regarded as one of Europe’s most successful collaborations in applied science, and the most important multi- national technical collaboration in nuclear energy.

Cooled by the inert gas helium, the experimental reactor was a forerunner of many of today’s gas -modular helium reactors. Developed from technology pioneered by Dragon, modern reactors are highly effi cient and reliable, with little waste compared with other forms of generation.

There are around 10 High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors around the world, most are in a state of care and maintenance but a number are planned or are in construction particularly in Russia, Winfrith delicensing China and South Africa. A large part of the Winfrith site - equivalent to Removed…. 10 rugby pitches - has now been released from

• 10 tonnes of lead the nuclear licence.

• 25 cubic metres of asbestos

• 140 cubic metres of perlite

• 83 tonnes of steel

• 80% of the steel removed was suitable for reuse or recycling

The 10 hectares of land, representing and refuelling, and produced no power. 12% of the site, were delicensed by the Grass now grows over the land. Offi ce for Nuclear Regulation last month The fi nal piece in the site restoration (September), an achievement that marks jigsaw will be the lifting of the directions many years of clean-up work. Signs giving the NDA responsibility for the marking the site boundary have now Photographs: site, which must be issued by the been moved. Secretary of State, and will allow Top left, the pressure vessel is taken Over the years, a number of research the land to be transferred to another apart facilities plus other buildings were business operator and brought back Top right, Dragon was a unique decommissioned and demolished, into use for a different purpose. including the zero energy reactor Now, with more than 30% of the Winfrith halls and fi ssile material store. ‘Zero clean-up programme complete, around Right, Winfrith is being gradually energy’ reactors were designed only for half of the original area has already been restored research into areas such as core design

released for commercial use. INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 15 Business optimisation

spotlight on

Wylfa keeps the on Wylfa has been given the go-ahead to transfer fuel between its reactors, enabling to continue until September 2014, almost four years past its original closure date of December 2010.

The move could potentially generate an continued during the recent outage, Fuel in the closed reactor also needs to additional 4.6TWh and approximately when the plant was taken off-line for be maintained in a safe state. £200 million gross income to the technical reasons. A shut-down reactor still requires UK taxpayer, supporting the NDA’s Stuart Law, Wylfa Site Director, said: “It is appropriate cooling, due to the decommissioning mission. a credit to the staff who have supported produced by the decaying fi ssion The Anglesey was Wylfa throughout its 41 years of products from the when permitted to continue using one reactor, generation and I look forward to working it was operating at power (referred to as transferring partially used fuel from with them through the fi nal phase of decay heat). Reactor 2 to Reactor 1, following several generation – the IRX phase.” This decay heat signifi cantly reduces independent reviews. Reactor 2 closed in To date, 204 fuel channels (1,224 fuel once a reactor has been closed for more April after operating for 41 years. elements) have been transferred from than a few days. However the cooling Magnox fuel is no longer manufactured, Reactor 2 into one of the site’s dry fuel requirements for Reactor 2 will be kept so the transfer of still-useable fuel stores before being moved to refuel the same as an operational reactor that from one reactor to another has been Reactor 1. The whole process requires is shut down for maintenance. important in allowing generation to comprehensive checks and safeguards, continue. The technique was fi rst used together with a full programme of training at Oldbury, which closed in February, for staff and changes to operating and adapted at Wylfa. Transfer of fuel, procedures. Photograph: A fuelling machine is or Inter-Reactor Transfer (IRX) has carefully manoeuvred into place. 16 Check them out Are you nuts? Barcodes are a background feature of modern life, quietly appearing everywhere from supermarket goods and airport luggage tags to theatre tickets and, now, nuclear waste.

Picture courtesy of npmimages.com

It sounds nutty but the removal of contaminated walnut shells has helped to reduce the amount of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) being stored at the Trawsfynydd site.

The shells are commonly used as a soft abrasive because they can remove paint, grease and other debris without damaging the surface underneath.

During the 1990s, the procedure was used to clean eight steel sections of the site’s former fuelling machine rings, each weighing 60- 80kgs, which were subsequently The recent introduction of barcode system designed to ensure that the categorised as ILW. technology has enabled Magnox to application of the waste management However, a ‘kernel of an idea’ led to pioneer an innovative tracking system at hierarchy can be simply, consistently and the careful removal and vacuuming all sites that, for the fi rst time, provides effectively demonstrated. of the radioactively contaminated immediate access to comprehensive up- “We are pleased to see the walnut shell debris, allowing the to-date information on waste streams. implementation of the system on rings to be re-categorised as Low The ‘cradle to grave’ system, means all Magnox sites and encourage its further Level Waste. This highly successful waste can be tracked as it progresses development to deliver a consistent process enables the metal to be through treatment and disposal routes, while approach to the categorisation, control recycled and means Magnox don’t also providing confi dence to the regulator and reporting of radioactive, hazardous have to shell out on ILW processing that waste packaging labels accurately and controlled wastes. Implementation and long-term on-site storage describe the contents. The system also of the system across 10 sites will enable costs. supports sites’ emergency scheme Magnox to effi ciently report how it is Vic Belshaw, Programme Delivery arrangements allowing instant analysis of optimising its waste processing systems Manager at Trawsfynydd Site, said: records in the event of a site incident. across the fl eet to maximise their “Our initial tests showed the steel fi nancial and environmental impact.” The barcode technology involves was not as radiologically active as scanning waste packages for an instant John Collinson, Magnox Waste Director, fi rst predicted and it was in fact electronic report detailing contents, added: “The development of the system walnut debris inside the rings which which saves signifi cant amounts of time is ongoing and work is in progress to fully was the main source of the higher and effort. Hinkley has been leading on integrate records for GNS yellow boxes and levels of radiation. introduction of the system, and is sharing their contents. This will provide detailed “Removing the debris means we the experience with both EdF and the information to the Radioactive Waste can reduce the amount of waste Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR), Management Directorate and aids their stored at Trawsfynydd, reducing the who are investigating its potential for use plans for a geological deep disposal facility.” long term legacy of the site.” at their own sites. The removed walnut debris can be Paul Mountford-Lister, Magnox disposed of through an existing Environment Agency Lead, said: waste stream. “A waste tracking/accountancy system Photograph: Barcodes give instant is an essential element of a management access to information. INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 17 Waste management

Stripping back to the basics Around 2,000 tonnes of asbestos cladding have now been removed from structures at Chapelcross site as Phase One of the project comes to a close.

The project is the largest-known asbestos cladding. Placed end to end, the scaffold In all, more than 617,000 man-hours have strip in Europe, aiming to remove 3,300 boards would stretch from Manchester to been spent on the project, 23,000 of them tonnes of asbestos and man-made mineral Bristol. on training to ensure the safety of workers, fi bres from the Scottish site. many of whom have been working at Site Director John Grierson said: “This is a heights of up to 90 feet and in temperatures Since stripping started in 2009, the lagging tremendous achievement for the site and ranging from 13 degrees below freezing to material has been removed from eight our contractor Kitsons. The safe, early and 28 degrees C. , four dump condensers, 16 heat cost-effi cient delivery is testament to the exchangers, pump houses and a range of quality of the personnel working on the Starting in autumn, the second phase will associated ducts and pipework. Before project. I look forward to similar excellent remove the remaining bulk asbestos from the stripping began, two years were spent performance as we deliver Phase Two.” all four reactor buildings and is scheduled to encasing the heat exchangers in £3 million fi nish in 2016. Once the bulk asbestos is removed, the weatherproof enclosures to contain any steelwork left exposed is fi ne-cleaned by fi bres and protect from wind and rain. hand, taken back to bare metal and then This required more than half a million feet washed down. Fibre levels within and near of scaffolding, almost 200,000 fi ttings, the enclosures are monitored constantly. 276 ladders, 24,000 square metre of sheet 18 Fact File

• Asbestos was widely used during construction of the Magnox sites.

• In the 1939 fi lm Wizard of Oz, industrial-grade asbestos was used to simulate snow.

• When delivery of the Magnox Optimised Decommissioning Programme (MODP) began last year, almost 25,000 cubic metres of asbestos were present on Magnox sites.

• Under MODP plans, all asbestos will be removed from Magnox sites by around 2025, much earlier than previously planned.

• Sizewell has recently completed removal of asbestos from external steam pipes on the reactor buildings and turbine hall.

• The Chapelcross project is ahead of schedule and due to be completed under budget.

• Approximately 100 staff and contractors are working on the project.

• More than 225,000 bags have been used to package the materials.

Photographs:

Opposite page, more than half a million feet of scaffolding were used to encase the heat exchangers

Top, constant monitoring is one of many precautions required for asbestos work

Left, the turbines are now free from asbestos INSIGHT OCTOBER 2012 19 Waste management

A closer look at pond life Work continues at pace to decommission cooling ponds across a number of the Magnox sites. The aim of the £300 million programme is to reduce the hazards of the highly radioactive facilities, and associated plant, in ways that are safe, cost-effective and comply with regulatory requirements.

Magnox is taking a ‘lead and learn’ expensive bespoke solutions. approach across all its work programmes. Examples include: Fact File The Ponds Programme team was • Replacing the electrical drive system fundamental in pioneering this strategy, of a mini-digger with water-powered • Concrete-lined ponds store initially starting with a team at Hinkley who hydraulics, enabling underwater irradiated fuel as it is removed moved on to Bradwell, bringing the learning, operations to recover, for example, from the reactors. innovation and best practice with them to bulk sludge. inform the next set of challenges. • The fuel is stored in skips. • A fl oating ‘pontoon’ system (as used Steve Walters, Magnox Ponds Programme in marinas) which forms a working • Water cools the fuel and acts Director, said: “Dealing with the ponds platform on the pond surface, dropping as a barrier to radiation. legacy is particularly important in realising lower as the liquor drains down. the benefi ts from the Magnox Optimised • Spent fuel can be stored Decommissioning Programme. The • A freeze-dredge system traditionally in ponds for long periods, programme is active on fi ve sites and the used for clearing silt from water sometimes years. team continuously share learning across channels, but now for retrieving mixed • Ponds also contain various these sites to ensure safe, innovative and wastes from the Bradwell pond kinds of debris and sludge. cost-effi cient solutions.” centre bay.

The ponds task isn’t a small one: the The pontoons were fi rst introduced at • During 2011, 3,000 cubic team will tackle eight Magnox sites Hunterston - which has the largest Magnox metres of pond water were (Berkeley’s ponds were decommissioned pond at around the size of an Olympic drained from Magnox ponds. in the 1990’s and Wylfa uses a dry store), swimming pool – for workers using ultra- • More than 20,000 cubic metres applying a consistent approach where the high pressure jets to remove contamination remain to be drained– the ponds are fi rst drained of liquor and then from the pond walls. equivalent of more than 50 decontaminated to a level that will enable standard swimming pools. entry to the Care and Maintenance (C&M) At Bradwell and Chapelcross, individual ponds have been completely drained phase - facilities remaining on a site are • By the end of 2015, just over and stabilised, while the draining of made safe and left passively until fi nal 7,800 cubic metres will remain. dismantling decades later. Hinkley Point ponds has recently started. Although the steps are the same at all sites, • Hazard will be completely Innovation is vital to overcome challenges, some bring greater challenges, such as removed by 2020. with a focus on adapting technologies Trawsfynydd, where the ponds walls are and off-the-shelf equipment from outside being scabbled to remove contaminated • The programme team are the nuclear arena rather than developing surface concrete. currently working at Bradwell, Chapelcross, Hinkley Point, Hunterston A and Trawsfynydd sites.

• The optimised ‘lead and learn’ approach will save approximately £45 million from the original estimate.

Photograph:

Empty pond at Chapelcross

© Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 2012. Some images appear courtesy of site licence companies. Every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of material or images produced or used by the NDA. However, the NDA cannot guarantee that the images shown will always be current, accurate or complete and does not warrant or endorse the accuracy or completeness of the images. 10/12 2.5k 20