Paper is best
11 Aug 2005
In a “first” for the nuclear industry, managers at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority site chose paper instead of electronic storage because of its known ability to withstand the ravages of time.
Electronic storage is prone to corruption and supporting equipment and software rapidly becomes obsolete. In contrast, paper records can last for centuries with examples of scrolls from the time of Pharaohs still in existence - and legible.
The documents set out details of the intermediate level radioactive waste arising from decommissioning the Windscale Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor – the well-known “golf-ball” landmark on the Cumbrian skyline. Removal of the reactor core and other internal plant will be completed next year.
The waste has been grouted into concrete boxes for storage on the site until a national solution is arrived at for the long-term management of the
Some 423 documents were photocopied onto 11,718 sheets of “permanent” paper, packed in copper impregnated bags, and stored in 16 special long-life archive boxes. Permanent paper is acid free paper that will not deteriorate or discolour like recycled paper which has a high lignin acid content. For extra assurance, two further sets of records for archiving at different locations were prepared to mitigate against future loss or disaster.
The specialist photocopying was carried out by Furness Engineering and Technology of Ulverston.
David Gray, who led the project, said: “Our successors in the years and decades ahead must have access to detailed and reliable records of the stored radioactive waste as part of its long-term, safe management. For this reason UKAEA carried out a thorough study of all the options before deciding on the permanent paper solution. We worked closely with the radioactive waste agency, Nirex, on this novel solution and we hope that it will now be adopted across the industry.”
