Dounreay waste retrieval deal

Dounreay waste retrieval deal

UK-based engineering company James Fisher Nuclear (JFN) has won a £5 million ($7.6 million) contract for the retrieval and processing of radioactive waste from a 65-metre deep shaft and a wet silo at the Dounreay site.

Waste in Dounreay silo (DSRL)_460
Inside the silo: radioactive wastes from all aspects of over two decades of site operations were deposited through the ports in the silo’s roof (Image: DSRL/NDA)

Under the contract, described by the company as “the world’s deepest nuclear clean-up job”, JFN will supply a suite of remote handling equipment over a two-year period. The main mechanism for retrieval will be a hydraulic grab deployed from an electric overhead travelling crane located in a new facility above the silo. To support the project, JFN will construct a “significant” test facility at its site in Cumbria in north-western England to carry out inactive testing and operator training, before delivering the equipment to Dounreay in northernmost Scotland.

The emptying and closure of the two Dounreay waste facilities is one of the most important and challenging tasks in the decommissioning of the site, which was home to the UK’s fast reactor research efforts from the 1950s until the early 1990s. Unconditioned intermediate level waste (ILW) from operations at Dounreay was disposed of in the unlined shaft from 1958 until 1977. From 1971, the concrete-lined silo was used for routine disposal of ILW at the site, with the shaft used only for items too large for the silo.

The last disposal to the silo was made in 1998, after which the UK government announced a decision to empty both the shaft and silo. Since 2012, responsibility for decommissioning the Dounreay site has rested with the Babcock Dounreay Partnership consortium, after it took ownership of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL). The use of proven, commercially available off-the-shelf equipment wherever possible is a feature of the decommissioning team’s approach.

According to JFN, the deal is potentially the first of a number of contracts relating to the decommissioning of the high-hazard Dounreay facilities. JFN has provided remote handling systems at Sellafield and UK Magnox sites but managing director Paul Read said the contract represented a “first” for the deployment of the company’s capability at Dounreay. “Our specialised remote handling skills are directly applicable to the challenges that the Dounreay site faces. We’re keen to get started,” he said.

Source: World Nuclear News

Box project will help clean-up Sellafield and grow economy

Box project will help clean-up Sellafield and grow economy

A huge procurement programme to produce thousands of high integrity stainless steel boxes to house radioactive waste at Sellafield was launched today.

Sellafield Ltd has released a pre-qualification questionnaire, a major step in the process to find two manufacturers for an initial quantity of 2,200 three metre cubed boxes to store waste retrieved from the historic ponds and silos at the Cumbrian nuclear site.

Read the full article here http://www.nda.gov.uk/news/box-project.cfm

Source: NDA

Nuclear News Round Up (13th May – 17th May 2013)

13th May 2013
14th May 2013
16th May 2013
17th May 2013

Public comment on French waste disposal

Public comment on French waste disposal

Plans for the Cigéo facility to dispose of radioactive waste at Bure in France have reached the stage of final public consultation.

Having based its power system on nuclear energy since the mid 1970s, France has accumulated around 2700 cubic metres of high-level radioactive waste and about 40,000 cubic metres of long-lived intermediate-level radioactive waste. Between them these contain 99% of the radioactivity from nuclear power generation.

A suitable site with local support for underground disposal has been identified at Bure, to the east of Paris in the Meuse/Haute Marne area. Having studied the rock there for several years, the national waste management agency, Andra, proposes to create a network of tunnels in which to emplace the waste.

Cigeo vision (Andra) 460x298How Cigéo would expand underground through a natural layer of clay (Image: Andra)Industrial design work on the Centre Industriel de Stockage Géologique(Cigéo) facility was contracted in January 2012. It would see the development of a storage facility at a depth of some 500 metres, exploiting the properties of the Bure clay formation as a geologic barrier to prevent any potential spread of radioactivity. Although Cigeo will be designed to accommodate the wastes permanently, French law requires that storage can be reversible for at least 100 years.

A range of documentation on the project has been made available for a consultation period running from 15 May to 15 October. Public comments will be considered ahead of Andra’s licence application for to build and operate Cigéo, which could be submitted to the French Nuclear Safety Authority (Autorité De Sûreté Nucléaire, ASN) next year. Given permission, Andra would hope to begin construction of Cigéo in 2019 and bring it into operation by 2025.

Cigéo or any other waste disposal facility would be paid for by money set aside by EDF during the operation of its 58 power reactors. The company has already been working with Areva to reprocess its used reactor fuel to recover recyclable fuels and at the same time minimise waste for disposal. In its central accounts, EDF has around €40 billion ($51 billion) set aside for waste management and decommissioning of power plants.

Source: World Nuclear News

EC&I Engineer, Bristol

EC&I Engineer, Bristol

Hiring Lady

Job Title: EC&I Engineer, J36002

Location: Bristol

Employment Type: Permanent

Introduction

Due to recent engineering contract awards and subsequent growth, Assystem are seeking to recruit an EC&I Engineer for join our energy and nuclear team in Bristol.

Main Job Function

This position will enable the individual to work on a broad range of projects at various stages of development in a number of different sectors in collaboration with local and remote team members. Mentoring, support and guidance will be provided by senior staff members where you will be encouraged to develop communications and design management skills with regard to cross discipline communication and complex project management.

Requirements

  • Responsible for implementation of design to suit brief of feasibility/ concept stage studies.
  • Design calculations.
  • Production of drawings.
  • Design checking and substantiation.
  • Technical reports.
  • Surveys and investigations.
  • Testing and commissioning experience is not essential but would be an advantage.

Personal Attributes

  • Good communicator both written and spoken
  • A team player.
  • Innovative thinker.
  • Able to conduct themselves professionally and with integrity.
  • Adaptable to changing work fronts, environments and challenging situations.
  • Self motivated and capable of arranging own work schedules to meet challenging client deadlines.

Qualifications and Affiliations

  • BSc/MSc Electrical Electronic engineering or HND with relevant experience

Security

Due to the nature of work to be undertaken, applicants will be required to meet certain residency criteria in order to attain a minimum level of UK security clearance.

How to Apply

For an informal, confidential discussion about this role or to discuss other opportunities at Assystem within the Energy & Nuclear market please call Raj Johal direct on 01332 821162.

To apply for the position you can follow the link from this advert, forward your CV to either nuclearjobs@assystemuk.com or direct to gjohal@assystemuk.com

Contract to lay out new Wylfa plant

Contract to lay out new Wylfa plant

Work to develop the design of Horizon Nuclear Power’s proposed new plant at Wylfa in the UK is set to start.

Wylfa (Magnox Sites)_460
The existing Wylfa site currently houses two Magnox reactors, one still operating but due to shut next year (Image: Magnox Sites)Horizon, which was acquired by Hitachi of Japan in November 2012, plans to build between four and six Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWRs) in the UK at its sites at Wylfa on the island of Angelsey in north Wales and at Oldbury in Gloucestershire. The units would be the first commercial boiling water reactors in the country.

Hitachi-GE – 80% owned by Hitachi and 20% by GE – is the technology provider and delivery team leader for Horizon’s new-build plans at Wylfa and Oldbury. It has now been contracted to perform front-end engineering and design work for the proposed Wylfa plant.

Horizon chief operating officer Alan Raymant commented, “This is a multi-million pound contract stretching over several years, and represents another major step forward in our project.” He added, “It will support our site development work, allow us to assess the best construction timetable for Wylfa, feed into our public consultations and support the supply chain development strategy.”

Horizon noted that site layout and design aspects of the project will be made available for public comment when it launches its first phase of public consultation on the project, expected to commence in 2014.

The company is planning on the basis of site works beginning around 2015, leading to the start of major on-site work in 2018 and first nuclear construction around 2019.

The generic design assessment (GDA) of Hitachi-GE’s ABWR was officially began by UK nuclear regulators last month.

Source: World Nuclear News

Nuclear subs temporarily banned from two Scottish lochs

Nuclear subs temporarily banned from two Scottish lochs

Trident submarine HMS Victorious

Royal Navy nuclear submarines have been temporarily banned from two Scots lochs after failing training assessments.

Problems with safety procedures were identified during simulated submarine accident exercises in March and April.

The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has banned submarines from Loch Goil, near Faslane, and Loch Ewe in Wester Ross, while the issues are addressed.

The Ministry of Defence said there was no risk during the recent exercises and the subs continued to operate safely.

An MoD spokesman said: “The MoD takes its nuclear safety responsibilities seriously and conducts regular training to maintain high standards.

“We are taking steps to address the issues raised by regulators following recent exercises but there is no risk of harm to the public or to the environment.

“The Royal Navy continues to operate submarines safely out of Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde.”

Source: BBC News