19 January 20161 Andrew Cooney Future Decommissioning, TED NDA PhD Bursary call Webinar Characterisation at Sellafield 19 January Scope Set out a few challenges for characterisation, primarily focusing on Future Decommissioning Planning - Decommissioning - Waste sentencing In most cases the technology exists to satisfy most of our data requirements but can it be deployed, can it be gathered quickly and how much does it cost. 19 January The challenge ahead 170 major nuclear facilities and 2200 other buildings dating from 1940s 1 million m3 of concrete above ground, 1 million m3 below ground 37km road, 15km railway and 120km sewers 7km pipe bridges (21 off), 16km ducts and trenches (333 off) Waste Quantities: Vast quantities ! 19 January Characterisation during Operations Objectives To determine: -Plant Status -POCO, decommissioning and waste strategies -Variations between operations and outages. Constraints -Highly congested. -Limited access (150mm penetrations). -Complex geometries -High dose rates. -Contamination (fixed and loose). 19 January Characterisation during POCO Objectives To determine: -The effectiveness of POCO. -When to stop? -Residual contamination, liquors and residues (location, quantification). -Location of blockages -Location of pipework with stored energy. -Maintain safety of the facility during transition Constraints: -The same access restrictions although dose rates will be reducing. -High background radiation -Measuring alpha within pipes and vessels. 19 January Characterisation for Decommissioning Objectives -Determine methods: -Remote vs Manual -Working times. -Tooling. -Hazards. -Removing residual heels -Constraints -A need for greater accuracy (still high dose rates). -Access -Contamination. -Activity at depth in porous substances 19 January Characterisation for Waste Sentencing Objectives Determine: -Radionuclide fingerprint(s) -Sorting / Segregation requirements -Decontamination requirements -Waste classification (Rad and Non-Rad) -Bulk activity concentration (assay) -Surface contamination levels -Fissile quantities Constraints -Complex geometries -Alpha on internals -Comtam at depth -High background radiation -Compliance with CFA 19 January And we want more Something like 100 characterisation related activities in TDA R&D programme Often focused on submersible ROV, UAV and novel sensors Not much on 1.Sampling systems 2.Simple deployment systems 3.Making sure that new systems are certified/approved. 4.Lab challenges portable labs / automated labs 5.Measuring contamination under screed or thick surface 6.Integration, visualisation and analysis of data to support decision making 7.Secure data transmission and storage of large quantities of data. We want quicker analysis, cheaper. Active Demonstrator Programme 19 January Summary There is a massive opportunity to innovate and develop characterisation tools and techniques to help reduce the burden on the UK tax payer.