Latest news
Capenhurst shows the business value of recycling to the tune of ?250,000
Capenhurst’s nuclear clean-up site has demonstrated the value of industrial recycling by stripping and selling 150 tonnes of redundant copper cabling from storage buildings.
The site, which is managed and operated by Sellafield Ltd on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and houses the UK’s first uranium enrichment plant, is scheduled to become the first UK nuclear site to complete its clean-up programme in 2009.
The copper cabling carried electricity for the enrichment plant, which operated from 1952 until 1982 and required a supply of power equivalent to the city of Leeds. As part of the refurbishment of this building, which is now a storage facility, more than 15km of material has been removed and will be released on to the metals market.
Stewart Booth, Head of Uranic Storage at Capenhurst, said: “At Capenhurst we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and, as well as having financial benefits, our strategy of raising revenue from redundant infrastructure has significant environmental positives too.
“Our aim is to minimise the amount of material on site that has to be disposed of, so the more material we recycle, the less has to be sent to landfill – and of course if it has a monetary value then we can reduce the burden on the taxpayer at the same time.”
In addition to recycling copper, Capenhurst’s clean-up team has recycled hundreds of tonnes of materials on site, including aluminium, steel and rubble. Future projects include recycling the steel work that supported the copper power cables and also steel piping that was used to carry cooling water in the former enrichment plant.
Once Capenhurst’s decommissioning and clean-up work is completed, the site will continue as a safe and secure storage site for uranic materials associated with the nuclear fuel cycle.
