It takes dedication and planning to handle some of the world’s most difficult tasks. They are not always the most spectacular or the largest, but it many cases they are deemed to be worthy of going a little more than the extra mile. Mention the words “nuclear industry” and many people are concerned. Yet the decommissioning of nuclear establishments in the UK has created a whole industry to deal with this delicate issue – and into this arena has stepped the Sheffield-based SCX Special Projects division. In simple terms the decommissioning of old nuclear power stations requires the removal of nuclear waste. Not such as easy job when the presence of potentially lethal radioactive materials require processes to handle dangerous materials that are hazardous to the natural environment, expensive and require detailed and experienced approaches. Dounreay Site Restoration Limited in Scotland is considered to be one of the largest and most difficult nuclear decommissioning challenges in Europe. From 1954 until 1994 it was the centre for experimental fast breeder testing and development, made up of 180 facilities including three reactors, chemical reprocessing plants and various waste facilities. At an estimated total cost of £4.5bn, the mass clean-up is scheduled to finish in 2030 but access to parts of the site will be restricted for a further 250 years. For an in-depth process of this calibre you need to be able to rely on your equipment.
Materials Handling World 5th Jan 2016 read more »