Harwell’s 2000th can milestone

May 16, 2007

On 2nd May 2007 the Vault Store team at Harwell celebrated the recovery and treatment of the 2000th can of intermediate level waste through the Head End Cells at the Solid Waste Plant.

The can was processed by Norman Harrison, CEO UKAEA, and marks a significant milestone in the waste recovery operations. The wastes are being recovered and transferred to the Head End Cells where the waste is characterised and loaded into 500 litres stainless steel drums for long term storage and eventual disposal. In parallel, cementation of the stored 500 litre drums of waste will commence once the new Waste Encapsulation Plant has finished construction and commissioning.

Approximately 8000 cans remain to be recovered and processed during the coming years and additional plant and equipment (RM2) to aid recovery have been commissioned in order to meet the challenging programme. The waste has arisen from some forty five years of research and development work on the Harwell site and is a diverse waste stream. The recovery of these wastes is part of the critical path for the restoration of the Harwell site.

Performance Based Incentives on can recovery and processing have been exceeded each year, representing a significant achievement by all involved as the efficiency of the plant has been required to be increased to meet the increasing challenging targets.

Ends

  • The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is a world-leader in managing nuclear decommissioning and environmental restoration. UKAEA has reached a significant milestone in the decommissioning of the former nuclear research site at Harwell in Oxfordshire.
  • UKAEA’s task at Harwell is to manage its environmental restoration programmes on site. This includes the decommissioning of redundant nuclear facilities, the management of radioactive wastes from past programmes of work and decommissioning projects, the remediation of any contaminated land, and the management and development of land and property assets on site.
  • One million square feet of buildings and nuclear research facilities, an area approximately the size of 21 football fields, have now been demolished since decommissioning work started in 1991. The UKAEA, which owns and operates the site, has put in place a comprehensive plan to develop Harwell as an international business centre so that it can provide quality accommodation and facilities for all sizes of companies working in the fields of science and technology – from start-up companies to fully developed international organisations. The 750-acre (296 hectares) site has an overall development ceiling of 2.5 million sq. ft of new and existing space.
  • The site currently houses organisations such as the Medical Research Council, AEA Technology, NUKEM, SERCo, Harwell Dosimeters, Scientifics, Oxford Drying Restoration Services, G E Healthcare, and REVISS Services (UK). Adjacent to the site is the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory as well as the £235M Diamond synchrotron facility, the largest scientific facility to be built in the UK for 30 years currently under construction.

For more information please contact: Angela Vincent, Harwell Communications Manager