The development follows Sellafield contract award to Nuvia to construct the plant as separate modules to enable it to be assembled and fully tested off site in a controlled environment prior to being unplugged and transferred to site.
As part of the work on the new plant, the Pile Fuel Storage Pond (PFSP) will be the decommissioned and part of this work involves emptying the pond of its radioactive sludge.
An innovative solution has been provided by nuclear experts to the challenge of removing radioactive sludge from the world’s biggest open-air nuclear pond.
At a fraction of the original estimated cost, the Drum Filling Plant (DFP) will export the sludge from the Pile Fuel Storage Pond (PFSP) using a petrol-pump style design.
Project Manager Chris Plane said that the DFP will be operational by mid-2015 and will provide a cost effective solution saving the UK taxpayer money and reducing the sludge hazard.
PFSP head Dorothy Gradden said that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has approved the plant build and the company recently signed a contract with Nuvia to construct the DFP.
"The plant will be built as separate modules to allow it to be assembled and fully tested off site in a controlled environment before being unplugged and shipped to site. This reduces the work required to be done in the more restrictive Sellafield site environment and further accelerates the delivery schedule," Gradden added.
