Packaging
Optimising site funding, balancing container and operations costs with infrastructure costs.
A range of waste containers are available to waste producers for the packaging of radioactive waste. This includes unshielded waste containers used in remote packaging activities that are stored in shielded stores. In recent years, waste producers have designed and utilised shielded waste containers to enable handling using conventional techniques to place packages into lightly shielded stores.
This enables waste producers to optimise site funding, balancing container and operations costs with infrastructure costs attributed to stores.
Waste producers have historically designed and utilised waste containers to support specific programmes of work such as wastes generated from reprocessing activities at Sellafield and Dounreay, through to the packaging of operational waste from reactor sites. Prior to the formation of the NDA, there was little coordination in this area. Different designs were developed for container types, e.g. 500 litre drums and 3m3 boxes.
In recent years industry has increased the use of shielded containers, continuing the trend of more SLC-specific designs. The NDA continues to work with waste producers to ensure that they are developing robust plans and to coordinate the development of fully underpinned strategies for the design, manufacture and use of all waste containers that take account of the whole waste management lifecycle.
This ensures that decisions taken and adopted by waste producers in relation to waste containers recognise the wider benefits to the group of cost and schedule savings, without compromising safety.