Nuclear Waste Retrieval Begins at UK’s Oldest Waste Store

Sellafield engineers, using new equipment designed and installed by a Bechtel-Cavendish Nuclear team, have begun retrieving waste from the UK’s oldest waste storage building. The Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS) at Sellafield nuclear facility in northwest England is a sealed building with six compartments of radioactive material. It was built in the 1950s to store debris from the UK’s oldest nuclear reactors. This week, a crucial stage was reached when a remotely operated crane reached through one of six shielded access doors and started safely and securely scooping out waste. The milestone is significant in the permanent, safe, and secure disposal of materials, and has Sellafield retrieving waste from all four legacy ponds and silos for the very first time.