The site of the former Bradwell nuclear power station has now successfully dealt with all of its Fuel Element Debris (FED) waste – a major source of intermediate level radioactive waste at the Essex site.
This is an important step towards the site’s planned closure, as part of the NDA’s mission to clean up and decommission the UK’s earliest nuclear sites.
Magnox Ltd and its supply chain used innovative techniques and unique solutions to manage the waste, which mainly consists of pieces of the magnesium alloy cladding that surrounds Magnox nuclear fuel. They dissolved the material in acid and explored new options for disposing of the waste. The result is a reduction in the hazards on the site and shortening the FED treatment project by more than a year.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Chief Executive, David Peattie, said:
This is another really important milestone and a huge step forward in cleaning up and decommissioning the UK’s earliest nuclear sites.
Finding new solutions and techniques to deal with radioactive waste is helping us to do things more quickly and efficiently, making our sites safer sooner and providing best value for the taxpayer. I would like to thank everyone involved in delivering this successful programme.”
