We have been reprocessing used nuclear fuel at Sellafield for decades, first in the First Generation Reprocessing Plant, then the Magnox Reprocessing Plant and, since the 1990s, in the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp). But what exactly is reprocessing?
Have you ever wondered what happens behind Sellafield’s security fences? Or how the site evolved from a farm to a nuclear icon and one of the biggest environmental clean-up challenges in Europe? Sellafield Ltd’s head of corporate communications, Emma Law, takes you inside Sellafield.
NDA Inventory Manager, Martin James, outlines how international nuclear agencies are working together to report, for the first time, on global trends in how radioactive waste and spent fuels are managed.
As our Annual Report and Accounts for 2017 to 2018 are published, David Peattie, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, looks back over a year of progress and reflects on the learning that will transform the NDA into a stronger organisation, in the best possible shape to face challenges of the future.
Nucleargraduate Arun Khuttan, whose training included eight months at the NDA and is now seconded to Moltex Energy, outlines an inspirational week at the annual Waste Management Symposia (WMS) in Phoenix, US.
Mae’r blog yma yn bwrw golwg ar fy mhrofiadau ar stondin arddangos RWM yn Ffair Big Bang yn ystod dau ddiwrnod olaf y digwyddiad.
O fewn RWM mae yna is-grwpiau a thimau gwahanol. Dwi’n ffisegydd siartredig, a fy ngwaith i yw dangos na fydd Cyfleuster Gwaredu Daearegol (GDF) yn achosi niwed i bobl na'r amgylchedd. Mae gwaredu daearegol yn cynnwys ynysu a gosod gwastraff ymbelydrol mewn daeargelloedd a thwneli, yn ddwfn o dan ddaear, rhwng 200m a 1000m o dan yr wyneb. Mae hyn yn atal ymbelydredd rhag cyrraedd yr wyneb mewn lefelau a allai achosi niwed. Caiff gwastraff ymbelydrol solet ei becynnu mewn cynwysyddion diogel sydd wedi’u peiriannu, a wneir fel arfer o fetel neu goncrid, a'u gosod mewn ffurfiant creigiau sefydlog, gyda'r cynwysyddion wedi'u hamgylchynu gan glai neu sment. Gelwir hyn yn ddull aml-rwystr.
Lucy Bailey is a chartered physicist working for Radioactive Waste Management, and it’s her job to show that a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) will not cause any harm to people or the environment. Geological disposal involves isolating and containing radioactive waste in sealed vaults and tunnels deep underground, between 200 m and 1000 m below the surface. This prevents radioactivity from ever reaching the surface in levels that could cause harm.
This blog post covers Dr Amy Shelton's experiences at RWM’s exhibition stand at the Big Bang Fair, over the last two days of the event.
International Women’s Day shed focus on the strengths and achievements of women around the world. And to showcase women in the nuclear industry, Clare Fuller hears from two women: Dorothy Gradden OBE, who started her career more than 20 years ago, and Heather Patterson, who only began working in the industry last October. Together, they highlight the differences in the sector.