The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

 

Innovation has transformed a clean-up challenge at the Bradwell ponds complex into a trailblazing approach that is now being adopted across the Magnox estate.

Having secured this approach as a foundation for all future ponds decommissioning, a potential £15 million saving is set to be delivered across all sites over the next seven years, together with the more intangible but equally valuable benefit of building an unsurpassed level of expertise in the difficult area of ponds clean-up.

Further significant savings are likely to result as work begins on the next ponds decommissioning phase which follows the clean-up.

The initiative began as a drive to use existing expertise more effectively rather than relying on the conventional site-by-site approach. This evolved into the creation of a uniquely specialised team from different disciplines, which was then integrated into the existing project team, who worked to inspire each other, sharing learning and finding the best way forward. Now called "programmisation", other decommissioning challenges are being tackled in the same way following assessment and approval by the NDA.

In this case, a combination of expertise from Bradwell and Hinkley Point A, led by the former Hinkley Point A Site Director Bob Kury, who had a wealth of radiological decommissioning experience, were the key components that delivered success for the project.

A 12-strong team joined Bradwell and integrated into its newly created team which was setting out to address the hazards associated with clearing and draining the ponds, empty of spent fuel since 2005.

The pooling of knowledge, skills and experience generated an energy and enthusiasm that led to rapid progress, with a focus on finding in-house solutions to engineering conundrums that might otherwise – following standard practice - have been outsourced at great expense. Control and supervision were also enhanced, along with contingency planning.

Justin Barnes, Bradwell's Field Delivery Manager, said: "The site team members have strong engineering backgrounds and this approach, where we learned much from the Hinkley experience, built on that knowledge, allowing people's talents to be used in designing our own solutions and thinking more creatively. This in itself develops new skills and a better equipped, more motivated workforce."

Among the pioneering techniques, all of which must comply with nuclear safety regulations, were the development of an ultra high-pressure water jet cleaning system for use below the pond surface, use of floating pontoons instead of scaffolding and the deployment of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that had been specially adapted for underwater use at Hinkley after being bought, at minimal cost, via an Ebay site. Re-adapted for Bradwell, the ROV now looks set to be an integral piece of Magnox pond cleaning kit.

Deputy Site Director John Grierson added: "Often we do not need complex engineering solutions, just robust simple engineering equipment that can do the job. The programmisation approach represents a cultural change, it develops real expertise that can benefit all the sites."

Programmisation leads to a continuing accumulation of knowledge and skills that will keep producing benefits across the entire NDA estate. The team that galvanised the Bradwell project has now moved on to Chapelcross, where the ponds are no longer utilised. Options are being evaluated to support other sites, including Sellafield and Hunterston A.

Meanwhile, after two years work, one of the Bradwell ponds is completely drained down, with the innovations, processes and working practices serving as a benchmark for the next site. In the next four years further activities will see the ponds project complete to enter safely into care and maintenance.

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