A Sellafield team is celebrating a breakthrough in dealing with one of the site’s highest category risks.
The floc retrieval project has perfected a technique to suck up and move a sludgy substance known as flocculant.
The tanks the material is stored in are no longer fit for purpose and a reliable method is needed to remove it and place it in modern containers.
But the material is radioactive and the space to work in highly restricted.
A mock-up has been built at James Fisher Nuclear, in Egremont, where decommissioning experts can safely experiment with different ways of getting the job done.
They have now successfully demonstrated the equipment works, achieving an important milestone in the project.
Sean Keaveney, Sellafield Ltd’s project manager for the work, said: “Our purpose at Sellafield is to create a clean and safe environment for future generations.
“That means ensuring legacy material like floc is transferred to more modern storage so the risk it poses to people and the environment is reduced.
“This is challenging work. Human entry into the tanks is the only feasible way of removing it. So a team of up to eight operators will need to go in wearing air-fed suits.
“We were able to prove the equipment and the approach work in practice which will give us the confidence to progress the project.”
Work is set to start in March 2024. It will see a giant vacuum system used to suck up the floc into a transfer vessel before being transported to its new home in Sellafield’s Floc Storage Tanks facility.
The job is scheduled for completion at the end of 2027.
