Capenhurst site
Process one
Uranic material arrives at site in two ways, either as depleted uranium from fuel recycling at Sellafield, or as uranium hexafloride from Urenco Capenhurst Ltd's enrichment process. All new uranic material is received at the front of the storage area before being unloaded by crane and catalogued prior to storage.
Process two:
The containers of uranic material are transported within the safe and secure storage facility by fork lift, or specialist truck, depending on the type of container. It is assigned a designated space on a storage rack and remains there in a controlled and secure environment pending its further reuse.
Process one
Redundant machinery and equipment is removed from a building and categorised into material that can be recycled or disposed of. As much recycling as possible takes place because disposal has an environmental impact, incurs costs and recycled material can generate money that can fund further clean-up work.
Process two
Once the building is empty, which can take years, a lot of care is taken to check all available surfaces for contamination. Where possible contaminated surfaces are cleaned, or disposed of. Then the building is ready for demolition.
Process three
Demolition is often a very delicate task because condemned buildings are often located next to, or near, operating plants. Frequently buildings must be taken down piece by piece and when this is completed, as much rubble as possible is recycled.
The Capenhurst site is split into two parts, one owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the other by Urenco Capenhurst Ltd (UCL).
The decommissioning site, which is operated by the NDA’s contractor, Sellafield Ltd, consists of a former uranium enrichment facility, which ceased operations in 1982. Since then it has mostly been decommissioned, which means redundant plant and equipment has been removed. Many buildings on site have been demolished to create reusable space, while the rest has been upgraded to safely store uranic materials, which are a by-product of recycling used fuel at Sellafield.
Capenhurst Site Achievements
10,000 Hex Tail cylinders refurbished and put into dry storage
Over 1,000 aluminium ingots disposed at LLWR
130,000m2 of building footprint safely demolished
4800 stage units recycled back into the metals market
10,000 Hex Tail cylinders refurbished and put into dry storage
Over 1,000 aluminium ingots disposed at LLWR
130,000m2 of building footprint safely demolished
1.5millions hrs decommissioning without LTA
Over 15km of copper cable stripped for recycling
4800 stage units recycled back into the metals market
A FANTASTIC safety success has been recorded in Plutonium Finishing and Stores (PF&S) at Sellafield with teams achieving six years without a single Lost Time Accident (LTA).
This equates to over 4½ million working hours without an LTA - a significant milestone for the 87 employees based at the plant.
The facility, part of Magnox Operations Unit, incorporates plutonium finishing line operations, stores operations and areas of plant, now redundant, being placed into care and maintenance.
Operations involved in working with plutonium bring about their own unique requirements, not least the provision of primary containment in the form of glove boxes, supporting ventilation and environmental systems, requiring operators and maintainers to develop specialised skills.
Over recent years a number of major refurbishment projects have successfully taken place including replacement of a calcine furnace screw drive and evaporator hold up vessel. These involved workers from a wide range of disciplines– design, safety, contractors, maintenance and operations- pulling together to overcome the radiological and safety hazards presented.
Ian Fisher, safety representative, said: “Considering the amount of decommissioning and plant maintenance carried out over the past two years within the PF&S complex it is a marvellous achievement by all to reach 6yrs without a lost time accident, and I think it shows that people are more tuned into safety for themselves and to others. We are often criticised for our failings from time to time but we should all give ourselves a big pat on the back for this achievement.”
Dave Capner, manufacturing manager, added: “This achievement is down to dedication and hard work of a safety conscious team. Given the extent of work and challenging environment this is a tremendous achievement. This success is about applying good standards, reinforcing safety messages and shows the dedication of the teams at PF&S.”
A major milestone was achieved in September by the Sellafield Ion Exchange Effluent Plant (SIXEP) with the replacement of its 100th ion exchange bed.
SIXEP is an effluent plant which removes radioactivity from high volume liquid feeds from a number of plants across the Sellafield site. The safe achievement of this 100th bed exchange marks a milestone for this key site facility, demonstrating the commitment the site is making to nuclear safety and the maintenance of a safe environment.
The workforce within High Level Waste Plants (HLWP) have achieved a fantastic one million hours worked without a Lost Time Accident (LTA). The Tuberous Sclerosis Association - who have provided support to the family of a HLWP team member - is going to benefit to the tune of £500 as recognition of this LTA achievement.
The suite of HLWP includes facilities for the storage and evaporation of HLW, the vitrification of the HLW into solid glass and an export facility which will allow overseas HLW to be returned to customers.
Dr Paul Robson, head of strategy and programme delivery (HLWP) said: "This is a tremendous achievement for the operators who work in facilities containing the most radioactive waste on site. Credit is due to all of the team and I urge everybody to maintain their commitment to improving our safety performance."
HLWP has placed renewed emphasis on reducing the instances of people getting hurt and have established several improvement teams to target and drive improvements in safety.
One improvement has been a modification to Master Slave Manipulators (MSM) which allow HLW to be handled remotely within enclosed cells. The MSM Rebuild team have introduced a new ratchet mechanism for these robotic arms. The main benefit of this is to reduce back strain for the operators and the likelihood of further LTAs.
The workforce within High Level Waste Plants (HLWP) have achieved a fantastic one million hours worked without a Lost Time Accident (LTA). The Tuberous Sclerosis Association - who have provided support to the family of a HLWP team member - is going to benefit to the tune of £500 as recognition of this LTA achievement.
The suite of HLWP includes facilities for the storage and evaporation of HLW, the vitrification of the HLW into solid glass and an export facility which will allow overseas HLW to be returned to customers.
Dr Paul Robson, head of strategy and programme delivery (HLWP) said: "This is a tremendous achievement for the operators who work in facilities containing the most radioactive waste on site. Credit is due to all of the team and I urge everybody to maintain their commitment to improving our safety performance."
HLWP has placed renewed emphasis on reducing the instances of people getting hurt and have established several improvement teams to target and drive improvements in safety.
One improvement has been a modification to Master Slave Manipulators (MSM) which allow HLW to be handled remotely within enclosed cells. The MSM Rebuild team have introduced a new ratchet mechanism for these robotic arms. The main benefit of this is to reduce back strain for the operators and the likelihood of further LTAs.
A major milestone was achieved in September by the Sellafield Ion Exchange Effluent Plant (SIXEP) with the replacement of its 100th ion exchange bed.
SIXEP is an effluent plant which removes radioactivity from high volume liquid feeds from a number of plants across the Sellafield site. The safe achievement of this 100th bed exchange marks a milestone for this key site facility, demonstrating the commitment the site is making to nuclear safety and the maintenance of a safe environment.
An innovative shielding solution has been used to great success in the solid waste facility at Sellafield.
The challenging task of recovering a previously contaminated compartment area was overcome by a team of engineers from Sellafield Ltd and International Nuclear Solutions Ltd. Manual working in the area was prohibited due to radiological conditions and this prevented site engineers from accurately surveying area, resulting in recovery operations being carried out by a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). The problem was ingeniously resolved by designing a strong, flexible bag made from fine stainless steel chain mail mesh to act as a robust shield. These shield bags were deployed using the ROV to successfully fill areas previously difficult to access, significantly reducing radiological hazards.
A MAJOR milestone in the decommissioning programme for Sellafield’s First Generation Magnox Storage Pond was achieved on 20 October, with the successful installation of a 42 tonne Gantry Refurbishment System (GRS). Assembling the GRS and lifting it into position over the legacy pond was achieved using an 800 tonne mobile crane, one of the largest in the country. Conducted safely under the highest category of plant modification in the buildings history, this challenging lift was the climax of much meticulous planning, safety case preparation and training
