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Dragon Reactor Decommissioning

Project

Winfrith Site Stakeholder Meeting November 2015

Andy Philps - Magnox

Prototype high-temperature helium cooled reactor A trans-European project involving 13 countries

History

Dragon

History

Built: 1960 to 1964

Ceased Operation: 1975

History

Why "DRAGON“?

• In its conceptual stage (in the 1950s) the reactor project hadn’t got a name.

• One of the atomic power pioneers, Otto Frisch, had devised the “Dragon Experiment” at Los Alamos which he said was like “tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon”.

• A fire breathing creature seemed suited to the high temperature reactor project at Winfrith and was adopted along with the banner of St. George.

Decommissioning So Far

• Almost all of the active plant outside of the reactor core has been

removed.

BEFORE NOW

Dragon Reactor Before

Decommissioning

Current Status of Reactor

Decommissioning So Far

BEFORE NOW Dragon Reactor Before

Decommissioning Current Status of Reactor

Decommissioning So Far

Decommissioning So Far

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1962

2015

9 The Reactor Core

What’s left?

Core Sampling and Characterisation

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What Next?

Scheme Design – Head cell

Scheme Design – Head Cell

Waste

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Intermediate Level Waste Boxes

Half and Third Height ISO Containers for Low Level Waste

Preparatory Work

Design and Fact Finding

– Design and Enabling Work (2015 to 2016)

– Design & Build the Core Segmentation Head Cell (2016 to 2019)

– Dragon Reactor Core Removal (2019 - 2020)

– ILW shipped to Harwell (2019 - 2021)

– Decommission the Head Cell (2020)

– Demolition of facility to ground level (2021 - 2022)

– Decommissioning Project complete (2022)

SCHEDULE TO COMPLETION