The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) recently published an update on its activities that point to an exciting future in the industry. The report also showcases many of the key projects supported by the Authority, including our own Barrnon Integrated Decommissioning System (BIDS) development which was a winner in the NDA’s £8.5m Integrated Innovation in Nuclear Decommissioning competition. The aim of the competition was to discover “technologies that could be combined into a single, seamless process to help dismantle some of the most radioactive facilities at Sellafield and other nuclear sites” and BIDS was selected as one of two initiatives for further development. BIDS is being developed by a Barrnon-led consortium that also includes Createc, Cambrian Intelligence, Atkins and IHI and integrates a wide range of technologies in order to remotely dismantle, segregate and pack nuclear waste.
Indispensable
According to the report, “robotics are becoming indispensable in tackling our mission, helping to safeguard the workforce, accelerate progress and save costs,” and Barrnon’s elegant solution meets all of these challenges. The NDA is a major funder of UK nuclear research, development and innovation and has invested more than £13.5 million through Innovate UK since 2012. The group also invested more than £90 million on RD&I projects last year.
A major challenge
As well as highlighting the benefits of innovations like BIDS, the report also brings into sharp focus the scale of the challenge faced by the NDA which is responsible for cleaning up the legacy of the UK’s post-war nuclear programme. “Many of the facilities were unique, producing radioactive wastes and spent fuel that no-one had ever dealt with before,” the report admits. “Structures, pipework, container vessels and land became contaminated and were mostly left for a future generation to clean up.” These are exactly the kind of conditions that BIDS has been developed to address and the system’s use of advanced scanning techniques and robotic tool deployment allow operators to remotely dismantle contaminated cell furniture. The Authority’s mission is set to continue well into the next century and is likely to cost in excess of £130 bn. “We’re delighted to feature prominently in the NDA’s latest report,” said Barrnon MD, Andy Barr. “The work we’re doing is vitally important for the nation. The NDA’s RD&I initiatives allow us to push our design capabilities to the limit, integrating cutting edge technologies and providing the effective solutions for the clean-up of legacy nuclear waste worldwide.” The NDA RD&I report can be downloaded here