Hi-tech video footage has helped to retrieve fuel
from Sellafield nuclear storage ponds which was previously thought to
be beyond reprocessing.
The B30 pond has held waste fuel for Magnox nuclear reactors since 1960.
For the first time in 15 years a container of fuel from
the so-called legacy storage ponds has been sent to the Fuel Handling
Plant.
It will be examined more closely, and the results of this trial could have a dramatic effect on future reprocessing.
The decommissioning of storage ponds at Sellafield is among the requirements set by the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency.
The latest developments follow close-up footage of the
contents of the pond, obtained by a remotely-operated submarine, which
showed some waste fuel in good condition.
The Fuel Handling Plant will now inspect it more closely and reprocessing trials will be carried out.
Ongoing trials
This involves blending it with modern fuel to examine the impact it has on reprocessing time scales.
Dorothy Gradden, who is in charge of the clean-up, said
it was an exciting development: "Our current plans assumed that due to
the age of the fuel in B30, none of it would be reprocessable and we
would have to build new plants to treat and store this fuel's waste.
"But the fuel has been well preserved and we believe
some of it can be reprocessed through our modern plants, currently
operational.
-----------------
Complete article BBC
-----------------
