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Thorp restart
We started to shear fuel on 28 January for what is the second campaign of fuel since Thorp was shutdown in April 2005. Approximately 1te of fuel was sheared before the elevator which takes the fuel from the feed pond to the shear cave failed and production had to be stopped. The work has now been completed to get the plant back up and running again.
Steve Cockayne, Head of Thorp, said: “This has been a real team effort pulling together in order to get the elevator safely back into operation. It was a big disappointment when it failed, however it was a mechanical breakdown that I was confident we could overcome and I’m delighted that we’re back shearing fuel again.”
“All the safety systems worked as designed, in particular the shock absorbers which prevented fuel damage. The shock absorbers had to be replaced and a team of engineers, designers and contract specialist worked with the manufacturers to get the shock absorbers manufactured to the earliest timescale. These were delivered, installed and the elevator commissioned in early March.”
Since the break down of the elevator, an engineering assessment was carried out and as suspected, the metal elevator ropes had failed. Replacement elevator ropes have since been installed.
Thorp restarted this second campaign of fuel during the weekend 14-17 March. This campaign comprises up to 100te of UK AGR and overseas LWR fuel. Production at the plant is being ramped up slowly as is normal after a shutdown in order to safely bring the plant back into operation.
Director of Commercial Recycling Operations, Neil Longfellow commented: “We are totally committed to fulfilling our customers’ contractual requirements and have been in close contact with them whilst we’ve been getting the plant back up and running again. The plan is now to complete this substantial campaign of fuel prior to a planned shutdown in the summer months to bring a new piece of plant into operation.”
Thorp itself actually received permission to operate in January 2007 but has had limited throughput due a lack of evaporator capacity within the High Level Waste Plants. The first campaign to shear 33te of fuel was completed in August 2007 and this dissolved fuel was processed in the Thorp Chemical Plants during November 2007.
