Remediation of the FGMSP at Sellafield: The First Transfer of Bulk Sludge - 17133
The very first bulk transfers of radioactive sludge have commenced from one of the most hazardous nuclear plants in Europe, using equipment and systems researched, designed, installed and commissioned by Jacobs as part of the ACKtiv alliance. Sellafield is a nuclear fuel reprocessing and decommissioning site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. Sellafield incorporates the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale, which is currently undergoing decommissioning, and dismantling, and Calder Hall, the world's first nuclear power generating reactor. The first nuclear facilities were built in the 1940's.The First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP) dates back to the 1950's as part of the UK's expanding nuclear programme and was constructed to store, cool and prepare used Magnox nuclear fuel for recycling into new fuel. It urgently needs to be emptied of 1500 cubic metres of radioactive sludge. In this paper we describe the work undertaken by Jacobs to deliver a very challenging programme of work to provide the capability to remove sludge from the pond. The FGMSP Retrievals Project was awarded in March 2007 to supply equipment and services for the removal of sludge and miscellaneous waste from the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond at Sellafield. The Project is being executed by ACKtiv Nuclear (Jacobs, Carillion and Atkins) of which Jacobs is a 40% stakeholder. ACKtiv Nuclear is a mature Joint Venture and has been operating continuously and successfully since 2002, the oldest JV still in operation on Sellafield Site. The roots of the JV can be traced back to the 1980's. The Project covers all project phases from front-end engineering through detailed design, procurement, installation and commissioning support. The Project places huge emphasis on off-Site testing and has several facilities for both installation and integrated testing. This proves equipment prior to installation in a radioactive environment. The Project has achieved success and recognition including winning the 2014 and 2015 Sellafield Business Excellence awards, as well as numerous internal Jacobs awards. The Project achieved a major decommissioning milestone in March 2016. Since the installation of a 31 m pipe-bridge in 2012, using a 1200 te mobile crane surrounded by several other facilities with nuclear inventory, the Project has successfully installed the sludge retrieval and effluent system into the FGMSP. This 4 year programme of work included 2 booster pump platforms, sludge recovery tooling, hoses, umbilicals and a deluge skip wash box which were all trialled and proven off-Site prior to installation in the pond. This milestone to commence transfer of sludge to modern stainless steel containment is a major step forward in the hazard reduction of the facility.The presentation will cover the installation of the pond de-sludging equipment, the innovations deployed that ensured that the milestone was achieved under budget and ahead of schedule, as well the benefits to the facility, the Site and the nuclear industry. It will also examine the challenges that needed to be overcome such as high dose, contamination, limited working times and space constraints. The presentation will describe why the work is of national Importance and conclude with the achievement of commencement of bulk sludge transfer to a modern facility. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22794536
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-19-WM-17133; TRN: US19V0214038755
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2017 Conference: 43. Annual Waste Management Symposium, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 5-9 Mar 2017; Other Information: Country of input: France; refs.; available online at: http://archive.wmsym.org/2017/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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