Remote Handling Equipment for the Decommissioning of the Windscale Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor

Abstract

A decision to decommission the Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor was taken shortly after reactor shutdown in 1981. The fuel has now been discharged and the decommissioning programme, will last about 10-12 years. The paper describes the programme and objectives and deals with methods of handling and disposing of the radioactive waste material. The main new facility required is a Waste Packaging Building adjacent to the existing reactor in which the waste boxes will be filled, active waste encapsulated in concrete; and the boxes cleaned, swabbed and monitored to comply with IAEA transport regulations. The handling machine concept and features are described. The assaying and packaging of the waste material, the control of box movement and the process of concrete encapsulation is described. The paper concludes with a description of the development programme to support. the Project. The tasks include a study of cutting techniques, production and control of dust and smoke, viewing and lighting methods, filtration, decontamination and fixing of contamination.