Nuclear sludge retrieval methods successfully trialled

A technique to remove sludge from nuclear fuel ponds has been successfully trialled at one of the UK’s largest wet test facilities.

The Decommissioning Alliance (TDA) is tasked with installing equipment to allow operators to safely retrieve debris lying at the bottom of fuel ponds at a site operated by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The aim is to safely remove and transport the recovered material for safe, long-term storage.

TDA representatives will complete the task by attaching a Bulk Sludge Retrieval Tool (BSRT), which ultimately acts like an industrial hoover, to a 40m umbilical. This will retrieve the sludge and then store it in a safe manner.

To test the new method, which includes the use of remotely operated vehicles to lock a hinged double boom arm in position, the team trialled the methods at engineering specialists Forth’s Deep Recovery Facility (DRF) in the company’s headquarters at Flimby, in Cumbria.

The DRF at Forth is the largest of its kind in the north of England, able to hold 1.2mln litres of water.

TDA Project Manager Scott Bond says, ‘The work we are carrying out at the site has been ongoing since 2010 and has been instrumental in reducing the inventory in the pond, which in turn reduces the overall risk.

‘Before implementing the practices live onsite, we need to be 100 per cent certain that they are safe and effective, so the trials we carry out are absolutely essential.’