Cavendish Nuclear has over 60 years’ experience of decommissioning, fuel removal, decontaminating and dismantling nuclear reactors. We have successfully removed reactor pressure vessels, cooling loops and ancillary systems, including all fuels, coolants, waste and asbestos.
Our UK experience is drawn from a heritage of being the licensee of the Harwell, Winfrith, Magnox, Dounreay and Windscale nuclear sites. This includes a total of 27 different reactors ranging from small scale piles at Harwell to highly complex power generating reactors such as the Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) at Winfrith, the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) at Dounreay and the Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (WAGR). This experience has also been applied to complex nuclear reactor decommissioning programs across Europe and beyond.
Our experience in decommissioning reactors and ancillary systems and pipework is unrivalled in the UK and includes:
- Reactor area dismantling
- Dismantling primary biological shields
- Dismantling cooling and moderator pipework (gas, water, heavy water and liquid metal)
- Dismantling and removing fuel remnants, Intermediate Level Waste (ILW), sludge’s, residues, heat exchangers and tanks
- Dismantling in high radiation, high contamination, high asbestos hostile environments
- Planning and developing detailed work plans
- Design and construction of reactor dismantling containment, remote handling equipment, size-reduction facilities and waste packaging equipment.
- Management of radioactive waste to minimize ILW and LLW and maximize recycling and re-use
- Decontamination and monitoring for site release and final regulatory clearance
