The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Bradwell site has won a prestigious national award for the way it handles waste, both radiological and conventional.

One of two Magnox sites undergoing a programme of accelerated decommissioning, Bradwell was named construction recycler of the year after making a detailed submission for the National Recycling Awards. The awards, sponsored by the industry journal Materials Recycling World, were presented at a high-profile ceremony in London.

Last year the site recycled 95% from 11,000 tonnes of non-radiological waste and, through the decommissioning programme, also minimised the quantities of radiological waste generated. This in turn led to substantial costs savings and generated income from the sale of materials stripped from the various on-site projects.

Jim Buckley, Bradwell Site Waste Manager, said:

"Bradwell takes its waste management responsibilities very seriously and it's great for the site waste team to be recognised for our work in this area. Magnox is leading the way in UK decommissioning and waste management is a key part of this."

Bradwell's approach is shared by the other Magnox sites which all have an impressive 90%-plus recycling rate and where waste management forms an important element of the Magnox Optimised Decommissioning Programme (MOPD). The MODP identifies common projects that enable innovation and technologies to be refined at one site before being transferred elsewhere – the 'lead and learn' principle. 

Waste is dealt with in line with the overarching Magnox Integrated Waste Strategy which addresses the full range of material arising from both decommissioning projects and associated everyday activities: radiological and non-radiological, solids, liquids and gases. 

The strategy follows the principle that waste is best avoided if possible, then minimised, reused, recycled or treated before being disposed of as the final option.

Sites are required to bag, segregate and label wastes as they arise, using bins or skips, while larger-scale recycling is also pursued. When Bradwell's turbine hall was demolished earlier this year, for example, only 630 tonnes out of the 12,000 tonnes of waste produced were sent to landfill – 95% recycled - and the lessons of how this was achieved will be shared with other Magnox sites. Chapelcross and Hinkley, meanwhile, have each shipped off redundant turbines to be used for training apprentices, and, on a grander scale, Berkeley has sent five of its 310-tonne boilers to be melted down for the scrap metal market.

All decommissioning projects take waste minimisation and recycling into consideration during the development and implementation stages, assessing the best options for reducing risks and safeguarding the environment. This approach also supports the NDA's strategy on Low Level Waste, which encourages UK-wide collaboration on using a wide range of alternative treatment and disposal routes for lightly radioactive waste.