The Magnox Swarf Storage Silo, located in the oldest part of the Sellafield facility, has been storing nuclear waste in its water-filled chambers for the past 60 years.
The facility housed the casings taken from old fuel rods from Magnox reactors so that the fuel inside could be recycled, and it was once a significant part of the nation’s nuclear energy output.
It is now one of the most dangerous nuclear buildings on the Sellafield site and in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) estate because to the building’s age, the items kept inside, and the fact that it was never built with disposal in mind.
Teams at Sellafield are starting to remove garbage from the site today, placing it in custom-built stainless steel waste containers and transporting it to contemporary storage on the site.
The Magnox Swarf Storage Silo
Chris Halliwell, Head of Programme Delivery for Magnox Swarf Storage Silo, leads the team and discusses some of the problems they’ve experienced. He stated:
This is the culmination of decades of preparation by hundreds of people across our Sellafield Ltd and supply chain.
As well as maintaining the original concrete structure of the building, we have designed and are installing purpose-built retrieval machines.
The first of our 3 retrievals machines has now started the job which will take another 20 or so years to complete. Our teams use this machine to reach down into the compartment of the silo, grab waste from inside, and put it inside containers that have been designed and manufactured for the job.
Eventually those metal waste boxes will be held safely inside a new highly engineered store currently being built on site. So that we can get waste out as soon as possible, we are making use of existing stores at Sellafield until the new one is ready.
All of the waste will eventually be sent to a geological disposal facility when that becomes available.
Once empty of waste, our attention will turn to decommissioning and ultimately knocking down the silo building.
The NDA’s group chief executive, David Peattie, stated:
The start of retrievals from Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is a major milestone in our decommissioning mission and an excellent example of the pioneering work taking place on our sites.
It is testament to the years of hard work to safely, securely, and cost-effectively manage the UK’s nuclear legacy.
Martin Chown, chief executive of Sellafield Ltd, said:
This first step towards emptying the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is a huge step towards delivering our purpose of creating a clean and safe environment for future generations.
Everyone involved, whether they are at the front line of this retrieval work or building the new facilities that we need to safely store the waste retrieved, should be proud of what they have achieved. I am proud of them.