Major asbestos removal project at Sellafield
5 May 2010
Sellafield, UK – One of the largest asbestos removal projects in Europe has just been completed as part of decommissioning the Calder Hall nuclear power station at a cost of £26 million.
The project to strip asbestos cladding from the heat exchangers, turbine halls and associated plant was completed on 23 March. A total of 2300 tonnes of asbestos cladding was removed during the five-year project, which involved almost 1 million man hours of work.
“People always think that the most hazardous work at Sellafield involves managing radioactivity but this is not always the case,” said project manager Ian Williams. “Asbestos is a dangerous material and we have had to employ specialist contractors to help with this work.
Moreover, added Williams, much of the work was carried out at height. Scaffold towers over 36m tall had to be built around the sixteen heat exchangers on the outside of the reactors. These formed the structure for asbestos tents which prevented the release of asbestos and ensured ventilation for the workers.
”At any one time we had some 100 men working in arduous and confined conditions and we’re very proud of our safety record,” the project manager stated. “At no time were any workers exposed to asbestos because of our safe working practices and adherence to regulations. Safety is paramount and we work hard to ensure everyone goes home both uninjured and in good health.”
Since Calder Hall was shutdown in 2003, the asbestos was no longer kept at a constant temperature and its stability couldn’t be guaranteed. Therefore, a method of safely removing the asbestos in line with strict regulations was piloted and a contractor engaged. A total of £27.58m was sanction for the project however the end cost was £26.25m, a saving of some £1.33m.
“This is an important milestone in the decommissioning of Calder Hall. We are working very hard to accelerate the clean-up and remediation work at Sellafield and the fact that this project has been successfully completed on time and within budget demonstrates our total commitment to the job,” commented Stuart MacVean, spent fuel management director.
“The £1m saving is exactly the type of efficiency we are looking to replicate in other projects. We are planning to deliver six years worth of work for the cost of just five years. We know this is a significant challenge which will require accelerating hazard and risk reduction and improving production throughput to meet the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) objectives, but we’re confident it can be achieved.”
