Dounreay - UK
Background
The work carried out was part of a larger service offering for the treatment of waste items where Cyclife offered a “cradle to grave” solution for the metallic items.
This project offered the provision of dangerous goods and waste loading plan expertise for loading and transport of the Dounreay Fuel Element Storage Block (FESB) Top Plate.
Cyclife UK was contracted by Nuclear Waste Services, under their Metallic Treatment Framework. Cyclife teams were tasked with the treatment of several radiologically contaminated metal waste items for Nuclear Restoration Services (formerly known as Magnox) and Dounreay. The most complex item was the Dounreay FESB Top Plate.
Challenge
The Fuel Element Storage Block Top Plate presented a unique transport challenge due to its size and weight. This needed to be solved in order for the item to reach its final treatment at Cyclife UK’s Metal Recycling Facility (MRF).
Our Proposal
To enable safe and compliant transport, Cyclife UK consultants provided a bespoke service in defining the transport categorisation of the FESB Top Plate. This was achieved through utilising information provided by the client in the form of radiological surveys, activity assessments and technical data to identify the appropriate transport category for the waste item.
Details were collated and interpreted into a Transport Categorisation Report (TCR). This informed the client:
- that the categorisation of the item was under Class 7 (Radioactive Material) which could be transported by road:
- of the associated classification criteria which needed to be applied to ensure compliance with the Transport of Dangerous Goods regulations.
The output of the TCR was key in determining the item’s transport packaging requirements; the FESB Top Plate was classified as a Surface Contaminated Object (SCO-I) and could therefore be transported “unpackaged”.
From this initial report, a bespoke Waste Loading Plan (WLP) was created utilising additional technical data, engineering drawings, and suitable weights and measurements of the top plate provided by the client.
This allowed Cyclife UK to calculate the appropriate load restraints which would be applied to the item during transport. This ensured that no movement would occur, and the item would be safely and securely transported throughout the public domain.
Customer Benefits
The Dounreay/Nuclear Waste Services team were able to benefit from the experienced personnel that Cyclife have to offer in the specialist areas of:
- Dangerous Goods
- Class 7 Transport
- Waste Loading Plan production
Results
The Fuel Element Storage Block Top Plate was successfully and safely transported over 400 miles to Cyclife's Metallic Recycling Facility where, following size reduction, it was treated and later recycled.