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Demolition Derby
There are many minor decommissioning and demolition projects being carried out at Sellafield in order to help facilitate the major risk reduction projects.
The decommissioning and demolition of two annexes, a redundant road tanker and 6 stainless steel tanks are some of the key milestones achieved by the Decommissioning and Demolition Team in 2010.
Although a small team, an integrated approach to team working with Nuvia Operatives and their sub contractors, means that they are able to quickly adapt to meet demanding timescales and technological challenges.
Karen Tremble, operations manager said: “Demolishing redundant buildings can be beneficial and cost effective as surveillance and asset care costs can then be avoided. Demolition work can also provide valuable space which can be used for other purposes in congested areas of the site.
“We have had to deal with a number of challenging projects, including demolishing redundant facilities constructed using hazardous asbestos materials. Skilled operators ensured that the buildings were demolished safely, with waste managed in a responsible manner.
“We have also undertaken a project to remove a redundant road tanker which had been in situ so long that it had been given a facility number! Radioactive contamination was found during demolition which had to be dealt with. In addition, access to the tanker was difficult and was overcome by constructing scaffolding to support the tanker and allow the size reduction work to be carried out using plasma cutting techniques.”
Where possible the team try to reduce the amount of waste generated from decommissioning and demolition work. Metal resulting from the stainless steel tank reduction and the road tanker was sent to the site’s metal recycling facility.
The team also manage a process where rubble resulting from other demolition and construction work is used to infill the Calder Hall cooling tower basins. This is environmentally and financially efficient as is saves fuel in transporting the material off site as landfill and removes the cost of quarrying new material to use as infill.
