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INSIGHT Into Nuclear Decommissioning

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INSIGHT Into Nuclear Decommissioning ISSUE 10 2012 INSIGHT into nuclear decommissioning Delivering progress across the UK WASTE MANAGEMENT Contents p2 Magnox 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 Dounreay shaft and silo nuclear sites. clean-up p12 Marine energy park p13 Storage guidance launch p14-15 Dragon work 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 Winfrith 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 Magnox Ltd 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 Caithness 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 electricity 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-radiation 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 power 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.
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