During a routine inspection of chemical substances stored on the Sellafield site, a small amount of chemicals (organic peroxide) were identified as requiring specialist disposal. This chemical is used for a variety of purposes across many industries. In line with established procedures, support has been requested from Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD). The EOD team is now in attendance at the Sellafield site and will dispose of the chemical safely. Chemical monitoring is undertaken across the site to understand changing chemical states and to inform when and how industrial chemicals should be stored or disposed of. This chemical substance was stored in the site’s Magnox Reprocessing Plant. The storage area is safely segregated from the nuclear operations of the plant and the risk has been identified as a conventional safety issue rather than a nuclear safety risk. 8pm update: We can confirm that the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team have now safely and successfully disposed of the organic peroxide chemical package at the Sellafield site. We would like to thank the EOD and our internal emergency duty teams for their work and our workforce and stakeholders for their understanding and support.

Sellafield Ltd 14th Aug 2020 read more »

A section of the Sellafield, the defunct nuclear plant, has been evacuated after a routine inspection uncovered hazardous chemicals. A bomb disposal unit has been called into the site to deal with a “small amount” of organic peroxide, a potentially explosive chemical that must be kept cool to remain safe. Organic peroxide has a variety of uses across different industries but its storage is subject to strict safety measures. The plant, which is now used only to store nuclear waste and has not produced energy since 2003, has been made “non-operational”, Sellafield said. A statement by the company that operates the site on behalf of the Government said: “The storage area is safely segregated from the nuclear operations of the plant and the risk has been identified as a conventional safety issue rather than a nuclear safety risk. “As a precautionary measure, a controlled evacuation of the Magnox Reprocessing Plant was carried out yesterday in order to investigate the chemical and devise the appropriate course of action. The plant was non-operational at the time.

Telegraph 14th Aug 2020 read more »

Bomb disposal experts have successfully disposed of chemicals at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant that had been found to have changed state during a routine inspection, the British government said on Friday. The plant was evacuated as a precautionary measure on Thursday. It was not in operation at the time, Sellafield Ltd said. The chemical, organic peroxide, is used across many industries and was stored at the Magnox reprocessing site in northwest England, segregated from the plant’s nuclear operations.

WKZO 14th Aug 2020 read more »

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Irish Independent 15th Aug 2020 read more »

The UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) is highly concerned to learn of the need for the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team to attend at the Sellafield site in Cumbria after an amount of organic peroxide, which has the potential to explode, was found requiring disposal on the site.

NFLA 14th Aug 2020 read more »

Beyond Sellafield: Investing in the next generation. In recent weeks we’ve announced and revisited projects that will have an almost immediate impact in our communities. The ground has already been broken in the construction of a new Coastal Activities Centre and the once derelict Bus Station in Whitehaven is almost water tight and well on its way to becoming a hub for creative and digital business start-ups. Our investment in skills and education – in the futures of the young people in our local communities – isn’t always as visible. But it is vitally important. We know that in the future we’re going to need higher-level skills to progress our clean-up mission at Sellafield. High quality education provision is essential to deliver that. And it will ensure that more of our young people benefit from the opportunities created in the local community in years to come.

NDA 13th Aug 2020 read more »

Scientists are looking at ways to make greater use of robots in cleaning up and taking apart the most highly radioactive areas of Dounreay. The nuclear power complex on the Caithness coast near Thurso is being decommissioned. Robots have been used previously to reach contaminated parts of the site. Dounreay’s operator said they were working with Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear (Rain), a consortium of universities. Led by the University of Manchester, they are exploring the potential for using robots in the Fuel Cycle Area (FCA), which has the most contaminated parts of the site. Dounreay said the most contaminated areas were “generally also the most inaccessible”. A group of scientists from Rain carried out trials earlier this year in the FCA laboratories of a small remotely operated vehicle equipped with sensors, cameras and a manipulator “arm”.

BBC 13th Aug 2020 read more »

The nuclear site in the north of Scotland, which was the centre of the UK’s research into fast reactor technology in the last century, is being cleaned up and taken apart. The most contaminated areas of the site are found in the Fuel Cycle Area (FCA) facilities, which examined and reprocessed spent nuclear fuel. The nature of the facilities means that the most contaminated areas are generally also the most inaccessible. The site is collaborating with the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear (RAIN) Hub, a consortium of universities led by the University of Manchester, to explore ways to overcome some of these challenges. A group of scientists from RAIN carried out trials earlier this year in the FCA laboratories of a small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with sensors, cameras and a manipulator ‘arm’, which provided useful information.

Dounreay 12th Aug 2020 read more »

Three new R&D contracts, worth up to £25million, have been awarded to look for innovative solutions to the technical challenges of delivering the NDA’s decommissioning mission.

NDA 13th Aug 2020 read more »

A trio of multi-million pound research and development contracts have been awarded to support the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s plan. Three £25m contracts have been awarded to 12 successful consortia, six of which are led by SMEs – involving over 60 organisations in total. The 3 new contracts will run for 4 years, replacing the previous DRPs awarded in 2016, and follow a 6-month procurement process. The 12 successful consortia, 6 of which are led by SMEs, involve over 60 organisations in total.

Bdaily 13th Aug 2020 read more »

In her blog, Sam explains why implementing a safe long-term solution for higher-activity radioactive waste is the right thing to do, and introduces the thinking behind geological disposal.

RWM 6th Aug 2020 read more »

The UK’s Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) has partnered up with the University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield to launch Research Support Office (RSO). Based at the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, the RWM RSO will focus on providing evidence-based research to support the development of a safe and affordable engineered facility for the disposal of the UK’s radioactive waste legacy. The geological disposal facility (GDF) is a highly engineered network of vaults and tunnels intended to safely and permanently dispose of the higher activity radioactive waste. University of Manchester professor Katherine Morris said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the University of Sheffield and RWM on this exciting new venture to build a community of researchers who will deliver the highest quality, relevant research to underpin the UK’s radioactive waste disposal programme.”

NS Energy 5th Aug 2020 read more »

Energy Live News 5th Aug 2020 read more »

World Nuclear News 5th Aug 2020 read more »