We have developed a long-term strategy that will deliver the goals safely and responsibly, in line with best practice internationally and supported by the huge breadth of expertise in the supply chain.”
An introduction by the NIA Back in the early post-war years, the UK pioneered the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and, when Calder Hall opened in 1956, became the first country in the world to provide the nation with nuclear-generated electricity.
Hazard reduction in action
John Clarke Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) which is responsible for overseeing the clean-up of 19 historic sites
Reactor Decommissioning
Asbestos removed from nuclear plants
Fuel removal almost complete
The Windscale Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (WAGR) became the first UK nuclear reactor to be fully decommissioned, with its outer shell left on the Sellafield site.
The largest asbestos removal project in Europe is currently being undertaken at Chapelcross site in Scotland, where 3,000 tonnes of the insulation material are being stripped from the 16 heat exchangers. The former power station, near Annan, is also part-way through a programme to remove its 38,000 spent fuel rods.
50,000 tonnes of nuclear fuel – more than 5.5 million fuel elements – were manufactured for the UK’s first generation of nuclear power stations, the Magnox fleet.
Those historic power stations, the 11-strong Magnox fleet, have helped to keep the lights on ever since, so far producing enough power to supply a city the size of Greater London for almost 30 years. In today’s prices, that is worth approximately £50 billion and has been fundamental to our economic well-being. After operating safely for many decades, most of these reactors are now closed and in the process of being dismantled, along with the experimental research facilities, fuel manufacturing and enrichment plants. The associated consequences of their operations, however, are still being addressed at Sellafield, Europe’s largest and most complex nuclear site, where spent fuel is reprocessed and a wide range of waste material is conditioned, packaged and stored. The UK is now tasked with ensuring the historic legacy is dealt with safely, securely and cost-effectively, while minimising the burden for the taxpayer. This is being achieved under the direction of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), established by the Government in 2005 and responsible for 19 sites up and down the country. Global expertise from the private sector has been brought in to manage site operations, providing innovative direction and technological solutions. This has resulted in significant progress being made in the UK’s clean-up programme. Thanks to the UK’s early role in developing nuclear and now in decommissioning, our businesses are leading the way in responding to the many major challenges and complexities, many of which require individually designed solutions. For the supply chain, decommissioning is a significant market – almost £1.5 billion a year – and one that is set to grow. Let us acknowledge the progress to date and seize the opportunity for further success.
Lord John Hutton NIA Executive Chairman
Built in the early 1960s, WAGR was a prototype for the second generation of reactors in the UK. It closed in 1981 and since then has been in a programme of decommissioning which included the removal of its biological shield and pressure vessel.
Further south, meanwhile, another 2,300 tonnes of asbestos have been safely removed from Calder Hall, on the Sellafield site, which shares similar design features. The £26 million project, now complete, is believed to be the second largest of its kind in Europe.
The last fuel element was delivered to Wylfa power station in December 2011 and loaded into the reactors. With 10 of the power stations now closed, more than five million of the fuel elements, around 90%, have been removed and sent to Sellafeld for reprocessing. When defuelling is complete, more than 99% of a site’s radioactivity is removed.
Calder Hall was the first nuclear reactor in the world to supply electricity for domestic use and was opened by The Queen in 1956. The station’s four reactors stopped electricity generation in 2003 and a programme to remove its 40,000 spent fuel rods is now under way.
200+
Facilities
The Sellafield site of just two square miles is home to more than 200 nuclear facilities and 1,000-plus buildings. It represents the largest, most complex and challenging part of UK decommissioning.
2 | NIA Decommissioning successes
NIA Decommissioning successes | 3
We have developed a long-term strategy that will deliver the goals safely and responsibly, in line with best practice internationally and supported by the huge breadth of expertise in the supply chain.”
An introduction by the NIA Back in the early post-war years, the UK pioneered the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and, when Calder Hall opened in 1956, became the first country in the world to provide the nation with nuclear-generated electricity.
Hazard reduction in action
John Clarke Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) which is responsible for overseeing the clean-up of 19 historic sites
Reactor Decommissioning
Asbestos removed from nuclear plants
Fuel removal almost complete
The Windscale Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (WAGR) became the first UK nuclear reactor to be fully decommissioned, with its outer shell left on the Sellafield site.
The largest asbestos removal project in Europe is currently being undertaken at Chapelcross site in Scotland, where 3,000 tonnes of the insulation material are being stripped from the 16 heat exchangers. The former power station, near Annan, is also part-way through a programme to remove its 38,000 spent fuel rods.
50,000 tonnes of nuclear fuel – more than 5.5 million fuel elements – were manufactured for the UK’s first generation of nuclear power stations, the Magnox fleet.
Those historic power stations, the 11-strong Magnox fleet, have helped to keep the lights on ever since, so far producing enough power to supply a city the size of Greater London for almost 30 years. In today’s prices, that is worth approximately £50 billion and has been fundamental to our economic well-being. After operating safely for many decades, most of these reactors are now closed and in the process of being dismantled, along with the experimental research facilities, fuel manufacturing and enrichment plants. The associated consequences of their operations, however, are still being addressed at Sellafield, Europe’s largest and most complex nuclear site, where spent fuel is reprocessed and a wide range of waste material is conditioned, packaged and stored. The UK is now tasked with ensuring the historic legacy is dealt with safely, securely and cost-effectively, while minimising the burden for the taxpayer. This is being achieved under the direction of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), established by the Government in 2005 and responsible for 19 sites up and down the country. Global expertise from the private sector has been brought in to manage site operations, providing innovative direction and technological solutions. This has resulted in significant progress being made in the UK’s clean-up programme. Thanks to the UK’s early role in developing nuclear and now in decommissioning, our businesses are leading the way in responding to the many major challenges and complexities, many of which require individually designed solutions. For the supply chain, decommissioning is a significant market – almost £1.5 billion a year – and one that is set to grow. Let us acknowledge the progress to date and seize the opportunity for further success.
Lord John Hutton NIA Executive Chairman
Built in the early 1960s, WAGR was a prototype for the second generation of reactors in the UK. It closed in 1981 and since then has been in a programme of decommissioning which included the removal of its biological shield and pressure vessel.
Further south, meanwhile, another 2,300 tonnes of asbestos have been safely removed from Calder Hall, on the Sellafield site, which shares similar design features. The £26 million project, now complete, is believed to be the second largest of its kind in Europe.
The last fuel element was delivered to Wylfa power station in December 2011 and loaded into the reactors. With 10 of the power stations now closed, more than five million of the fuel elements, around 90%, have been removed and sent to Sellafeld for reprocessing. When defuelling is complete, more than 99% of a site’s radioactivity is removed.
Calder Hall was the first nuclear reactor in the world to supply electricity for domestic use and was opened by The Queen in 1956. The station’s four reactors stopped electricity generation in 2003 and a programme to remove its 40,000 spent fuel rods is now under way.
200+
Facilities
The Sellafield site of just two square miles is home to more than 200 nuclear facilities and 1,000-plus buildings. It represents the largest, most complex and challenging part of UK decommissioning.
2 | NIA Decommissioning successes
NIA Decommissioning successes | 3
British companies have significant expertise in nuclear decommissioning and clean-up, with 19 nuclear sites in the UK currently being managed through the process.”
The UK has a wealth of expertise and experience in the area of nuclear decommissioning and waste management. On a wider level, this places the UK’s businesses in a strong position to succeed in the expanding global market for decommissioning.”
David Cameron Prime Minister
Hazard reduction in action
Cleaning up nuclear sites
Charles Hendry Energy Minister
Toxic coolant finally destroyed
Space-age robot put to work
First fuel retrieved after 50 years
Land restoration 77 hectares released
Facilities cleaned up and demolished
Dealing with Low Level Waste
One of the UK’s most critical nuclear cleanup tasks was the destruction of a highly toxic liquid coolant left over from the early post-war experiments with fast breeder technology.
A significant hazard was reduced when a specially designed robot sealed a contaminated wall in one of Sellafield’s oldest cooling ponds.
For the first time in 50 years, fuel has been retrieved from the world’s largest open-air fuel pond.
Redundant pipework was also removed from the 60-year-old First Generation Magnox Storage Pond where high radiation levels prevent workforce access.
The half-tonne of fuel was transferred from Sellafield’s Pile Fuel Storage Pond to a transport flask and exported to a modern facility, where it will be held pending final disposal.
Ultimately, the NDA’s mission is about the long-term goal of restoring nuclear sites to a condition where they can be used for a different purpose.
A total of 322 buildings have been demolished at two of the UK’s earliest research centres, Harwell and Winfrith, since clean-up and decommissioning work started.
A new strategy for dealing with the UK’s low level radioactive waste (LLW) has increased recycling and yielded savings that are expected to reach more than £440 million by 2017.
The space-age robotic arm uses software controls originally developed by NASA, and was only deployed after 80,000 hours of intensive practice in a full-scale mock-up of the facility to ensure that every eventuality had been considered.
Extensive preparatory work supported the achievement, which came five years earlier than expected and marks an important step towards decommissioning. The open-air pond began operations in 1952 after a four-year construction period and processed 300 tonnes of Magnox fuel and 2,100 tonnes of fuel from the Windscale Piles. The goal is to remove all fuel by 2015 or even sooner.
Once the mission is complete, the strict regulations covering nuclear sites can be removed and the land released for re-development.
Among the facilities that have disappeared was GLEEP, the first reactor in western Europe which was built in 1946 and used for initial investigations into how to make a reactor work.
The level of restoration will depend on a site’s next prospective use, whether for industrial development, housing or back to nature.
Another milestone was the demolition of the Zebra reactor, used purely for research, which closed in 1982 before undergoing a clean-up and decommissioning programme. The site has now been grassed over.
The 2010 strategy focuses on reducing levels of waste generated, more recycling and new, more sustainable waste solutions. An additional goal is to preserve space in the UK’s only repository for LLW.
Dounreay was the only UK location to use sodium-potassium coolant, or NaK, in its fast breeder programme, which was eventually abandoned. Although NaK produced little waste during operations, it posed a serious chemical and radiological hazard, combusting on contact with air or moisture. Most nuclear plants use pressurised water or gas as coolant. After many years of research, development, innovation and trials, a £15 million purpose-built plant was constructed to address the unique and complex decommissioning challenge. Destruction of the last contaminated batches of NaK was achieved one year ahead of schedule and to higher environmental standards than once thought possible.
£6 billion More than £6 billion has been spent with the decommissioning supply chain since 2005.
4 | NIA Decommissioning successes
Magnox spent fuel, radioactive sludges, various nuclear wastes and skips are currently stored in the open-air pond, where conditions have deteriorated over the decades and which is a priority decommissioning task for the UK.
Since the NDA was formed in 2005, a total of 77 hectares – almost 200 football pitches – have now successfully reached this stage.
Last year, 3,915 tonnes of metal were recycled, exceeding targets, and 571 cubic metres of waste were sent for combustion treatment, while the first-ever consignment of very low level waste from a nuclear facility was sent to a specially authorised conventional landfill site. Together with other measures,18 years worth of capacity have been saved at the repository in Cumbria. LLW does not normally require special shielding during transport or handling.
95,000 A typical Magnox power station has up to 95,000 fuel elements, each lasting around five years before it needs to be replaced.
NIA Decommissioning successes | 5
British companies have significant expertise in nuclear decommissioning and clean-up, with 19 nuclear sites in the UK currently being managed through the process.”
The UK has a wealth of expertise and experience in the area of nuclear decommissioning and waste management. On a wider level, this places the UK’s businesses in a strong position to succeed in the expanding global market for decommissioning.”
David Cameron Prime Minister
Hazard reduction in action
Cleaning up nuclear sites
Charles Hendry Energy Minister
Toxic coolant finally destroyed
Space-age robot put to work
First fuel retrieved after 50 years
Land restoration 77 hectares released
Facilities cleaned up and demolished
Dealing with Low Level Waste
One of the UK’s most critical nuclear cleanup tasks was the destruction of a highly toxic liquid coolant left over from the early post-war experiments with fast breeder technology.
A significant hazard was reduced when a specially designed robot sealed a contaminated wall in one of Sellafield’s oldest cooling ponds.
For the first time in 50 years, fuel has been retrieved from the world’s largest open-air fuel pond.
Redundant pipework was also removed from the 60-year-old First Generation Magnox Storage Pond where high radiation levels prevent workforce access.
The half-tonne of fuel was transferred from Sellafield’s Pile Fuel Storage Pond to a transport flask and exported to a modern facility, where it will be held pending final disposal.
Ultimately, the NDA’s mission is about the long-term goal of restoring nuclear sites to a condition where they can be used for a different purpose.
A total of 322 buildings have been demolished at two of the UK’s earliest research centres, Harwell and Winfrith, since clean-up and decommissioning work started.
A new strategy for dealing with the UK’s low level radioactive waste (LLW) has increased recycling and yielded savings that are expected to reach more than £440 million by 2017.
The space-age robotic arm uses software controls originally developed by NASA, and was only deployed after 80,000 hours of intensive practice in a full-scale mock-up of the facility to ensure that every eventuality had been considered.
Extensive preparatory work supported the achievement, which came five years earlier than expected and marks an important step towards decommissioning. The open-air pond began operations in 1952 after a four-year construction period and processed 300 tonnes of Magnox fuel and 2,100 tonnes of fuel from the Windscale Piles. The goal is to remove all fuel by 2015 or even sooner.
Once the mission is complete, the strict regulations covering nuclear sites can be removed and the land released for re-development.
Among the facilities that have disappeared was GLEEP, the first reactor in western Europe which was built in 1946 and used for initial investigations into how to make a reactor work.
The level of restoration will depend on a site’s next prospective use, whether for industrial development, housing or back to nature.
Another milestone was the demolition of the Zebra reactor, used purely for research, which closed in 1982 before undergoing a clean-up and decommissioning programme. The site has now been grassed over.
The 2010 strategy focuses on reducing levels of waste generated, more recycling and new, more sustainable waste solutions. An additional goal is to preserve space in the UK’s only repository for LLW.
Dounreay was the only UK location to use sodium-potassium coolant, or NaK, in its fast breeder programme, which was eventually abandoned. Although NaK produced little waste during operations, it posed a serious chemical and radiological hazard, combusting on contact with air or moisture. Most nuclear plants use pressurised water or gas as coolant. After many years of research, development, innovation and trials, a £15 million purpose-built plant was constructed to address the unique and complex decommissioning challenge. Destruction of the last contaminated batches of NaK was achieved one year ahead of schedule and to higher environmental standards than once thought possible.
£6 billion More than £6 billion has been spent with the decommissioning supply chain since 2005.
4 | NIA Decommissioning successes
Magnox spent fuel, radioactive sludges, various nuclear wastes and skips are currently stored in the open-air pond, where conditions have deteriorated over the decades and which is a priority decommissioning task for the UK.
Since the NDA was formed in 2005, a total of 77 hectares – almost 200 football pitches – have now successfully reached this stage.
Last year, 3,915 tonnes of metal were recycled, exceeding targets, and 571 cubic metres of waste were sent for combustion treatment, while the first-ever consignment of very low level waste from a nuclear facility was sent to a specially authorised conventional landfill site. Together with other measures,18 years worth of capacity have been saved at the repository in Cumbria. LLW does not normally require special shielding during transport or handling.
95,000 A typical Magnox power station has up to 95,000 fuel elements, each lasting around five years before it needs to be replaced.
NIA Decommissioning successes | 5
Innovation in everything we do
Significant progress is being made and a skilled workforce is a key element in safe, effective delivery of decommissioning. It is also crucial to the UK’s new build programme. The employers, through the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, and the unions are clearly getting their collective act together in tackling this challenge.” Mike Graham National Secretary, Prospect Trade Union
We are now seeing real progress in the safe clean-up of historic hazards on the Sellafield site.” David Moore Chairman, Sellafield Site Stakeholder Group
Making progress on challenges from the past
Shielded boxes to replace stores
Building skills for the future
Research & development
Two sites leading the way
Work under way to retrieve waste
Exceeding production targets
More than £130 million is expected to be saved by adopting a radical change in how intermediate level waste (ILW) is managed at Magnox sites.
Well-qualified, skilled staff are a fundamental requirement for decommissioning, and the NDA and its sites are actively involved in support measures for a wide range of initiatives.
With a hugely complex and diverse set of decommissioning challenges, one key area of focus is research and development (R&D).
A new approach at the former Magnox power stations is set to remove a total of 34 years from the decommissioning process and save more than £1.3 billion.
Construction has started on a vital structure that will enable waste to be removed from a historic Sellafield storage facility, known as the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo.
For the second year running, another of Sellafield’s oldest storage silos has exceeded its target for transferring highly active liquor to a treatment plant.
The original strategy was to build large, highly engineered stores at each site to house the packaged waste while the deep underground permanent facility is developed over the coming decades. However, Magnox has now begun to use small, robust cast-iron containers which provide radiation shielding and can be bought individually, then used as required.
Hundreds of talented young people are entering the decommissioning workforce through apprentice schemes that provide on-the-job training and first-class qualifications.
The Magnox Optimised Decommissioning Programme (MODP) introduces a ‘lead and learn’ principle, where resources are concentrated on two of the 10 sites, enabling potential solutions to be comprehensively trialled and tested before being applied elsewhere.
Built in the 1960s, the Silo has six tall chambers arranged side by side and was used to store the outer metallic parts – cladding – of irradiated fuel elements from the Windscale Pile Reactors. It is a priority risk and hazard reduction project on the site.
The Magnox Swarf Storage Silo has 22 wet silos which hold metal shavings and debris from operations to remove the cladding from Magnox fuel.
The process of evaluating GNS Yellow Boxes, which need only a weatherproof building and can be disposed of directly to the underground facility, was launched four years ago and required approval from the nuclear regulators.
40 years
Across the NDA estate, around 400 are at various stages of training, with 150 taken on each year at a cost of more than £8 million annually. On another level, a pioneering nucleargraduates© scheme was launched three years ago, with support from across the nuclear industry, to develop leadership skills for graduates from a wide range of disciplines, including both sciences and humanities, via onsite training both in the UK and overseas. Investment in skills training also covers training and research establishments, with investments totalling almost more than £30 million for colleges in England, Scotland and Wales, together with a world-class research facility in Cumbria.
Nuclear material has been shipped around the world for 40 years, covering more than five million sea miles, without any accidental release of radioactivity.
6 | NIA Decommissioning successes
Approximately £100 million is spent across all sites each year on R&D to develop technological solutions that enable safer and more effective decommissioning, while providing value to the UK taxpayer. Recent successes include the pioneering use of a treatment that destroys radioactive oil, robotic machinery that operates under water, laser cutting techniques that leave only small amounts of debris and software that analyses the composition of radioactive waste more accurately. Support is provided through various mechanisms including site work programmes, direct funding to specific projects in the supply chain, bursaries to research students and jointly with academic institutions and partner organisations.
Bradwell and Trawsfynydd sites will enter the dormant ‘care and maintenance’ phase much earlier than originally planned, leaving just the reactor buildings and a waste storage facility on site. The lessons learned will enable more effective and coherent decommissioning at the remaining eight sites.
The Waste Retrieval Facility is a reinforced concrete super-structure that will be built alongside the silos and house a range of equipment to retrieve the contents. It is due for completion in December 2012.
Since 2010, over 540 cubic metres of liquor has been transferred to the treatment plant. The facility contains high levels of radioactivity and is located in a congested area of the site, presenting unique challenges for decommissioning.
8 million Nuclear material has been transported by rail since the early 1960s, travelling more than eight million miles without any incident involving the release of radioactive material.
NIA Decommissioning successes | 7
Innovation in everything we do
Significant progress is being made and a skilled workforce is a key element in safe, effective delivery of decommissioning. It is also crucial to the UK’s new build programme. The employers, through the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, and the unions are clearly getting their collective act together in tackling this challenge.” Mike Graham National Secretary, Prospect Trade Union
We are now seeing real progress in the safe clean-up of historic hazards on the Sellafield site.” David Moore Chairman, Sellafield Site Stakeholder Group
Making progress on challenges from the past
Shielded boxes to replace stores
Building skills for the future
Research & development
Two sites leading the way
Work under way to retrieve waste
Exceeding production targets
More than £130 million is expected to be saved by adopting a radical change in how intermediate level waste (ILW) is managed at Magnox sites.
Well-qualified, skilled staff are a fundamental requirement for decommissioning, and the NDA and its sites are actively involved in support measures for a wide range of initiatives.
With a hugely complex and diverse set of decommissioning challenges, one key area of focus is research and development (R&D).
A new approach at the former Magnox power stations is set to remove a total of 34 years from the decommissioning process and save more than £1.3 billion.
Construction has started on a vital structure that will enable waste to be removed from a historic Sellafield storage facility, known as the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo.
For the second year running, another of Sellafield’s oldest storage silos has exceeded its target for transferring highly active liquor to a treatment plant.
The original strategy was to build large, highly engineered stores at each site to house the packaged waste while the deep underground permanent facility is developed over the coming decades. However, Magnox has now begun to use small, robust cast-iron containers which provide radiation shielding and can be bought individually, then used as required.
Hundreds of talented young people are entering the decommissioning workforce through apprentice schemes that provide on-the-job training and first-class qualifications.
The Magnox Optimised Decommissioning Programme (MODP) introduces a ‘lead and learn’ principle, where resources are concentrated on two of the 10 sites, enabling potential solutions to be comprehensively trialled and tested before being applied elsewhere.
Built in the 1960s, the Silo has six tall chambers arranged side by side and was used to store the outer metallic parts – cladding – of irradiated fuel elements from the Windscale Pile Reactors. It is a priority risk and hazard reduction project on the site.
The Magnox Swarf Storage Silo has 22 wet silos which hold metal shavings and debris from operations to remove the cladding from Magnox fuel.
The process of evaluating GNS Yellow Boxes, which need only a weatherproof building and can be disposed of directly to the underground facility, was launched four years ago and required approval from the nuclear regulators.
40 years
Across the NDA estate, around 400 are at various stages of training, with 150 taken on each year at a cost of more than £8 million annually. On another level, a pioneering nucleargraduates© scheme was launched three years ago, with support from across the nuclear industry, to develop leadership skills for graduates from a wide range of disciplines, including both sciences and humanities, via onsite training both in the UK and overseas. Investment in skills training also covers training and research establishments, with investments totalling almost more than £30 million for colleges in England, Scotland and Wales, together with a world-class research facility in Cumbria.
Nuclear material has been shipped around the world for 40 years, covering more than five million sea miles, without any accidental release of radioactivity.
6 | NIA Decommissioning successes
Approximately £100 million is spent across all sites each year on R&D to develop technological solutions that enable safer and more effective decommissioning, while providing value to the UK taxpayer. Recent successes include the pioneering use of a treatment that destroys radioactive oil, robotic machinery that operates under water, laser cutting techniques that leave only small amounts of debris and software that analyses the composition of radioactive waste more accurately. Support is provided through various mechanisms including site work programmes, direct funding to specific projects in the supply chain, bursaries to research students and jointly with academic institutions and partner organisations.
Bradwell and Trawsfynydd sites will enter the dormant ‘care and maintenance’ phase much earlier than originally planned, leaving just the reactor buildings and a waste storage facility on site. The lessons learned will enable more effective and coherent decommissioning at the remaining eight sites.
The Waste Retrieval Facility is a reinforced concrete super-structure that will be built alongside the silos and house a range of equipment to retrieve the contents. It is due for completion in December 2012.
Since 2010, over 540 cubic metres of liquor has been transferred to the treatment plant. The facility contains high levels of radioactivity and is located in a congested area of the site, presenting unique challenges for decommissioning.
8 million Nuclear material has been transported by rail since the early 1960s, travelling more than eight million miles without any incident involving the release of radioactive material.
NIA Decommissioning successes | 7