Emergency Services

New Cementation Plant Waste Handling Facility

The construction of the new Dounreay Cementation Plant Waste Handling Facility is continuing to make good progress. Balfour Beatty who are constructing the waste-handling facility valued in excess of £10 million, has constructed the shielded operational area and are now completing the construction of drum transfer corridor. The drum transfer corridor is approximately 20m long x 5m wide x 5m high and has concrete walls and roof 1200mm thick. This is due for completion by end of October 2005.  

JGC Engineering & Technical Services has undertaken factory acceptance testing of the 33 tonne shield door, which is scheduled to be installed in October 2005. D Gow & Son Ltd are progressing well with the fabrication of the heating and ventilation components.

Isleburn Structural Services has completed the erection of structural steelwork and commence cladding the main building. AMEC have commenced installation of cable support systems.

John Swanson, UKAEA senior project manager said, “I commend Balfour Beatty’s safety record at Dounreay and also the performance of AMEC’s mechanical equipment subcontractors. The manufacture and factory acceptance testing of a 65tonne flask bogie, 6 tonne vertical shield doors, swab handling system and a lead shielding window costing £250,000 have been completed ahead of schedule.”

The new facility which is due for completion in 2007 will increase the site’s capacity for the storage of solid intermediate-level waste from the decommissioning programme. It will also enable the long-term management of liquid waste after it has been conditioned in cement. A small proportion of this cemented waste will be returned to foreign customers under the terms of historical reprocessing contracts.