Sellafield's magnificent six now in place
The final of six mighty doors which will unlock the contents of one of Sellafield’s most hazardous buildings, has been installed onto the oldest plant at the site.
The six stainless steel doors will be key to unlocking the contents of one of Sellafield’s most hazardous buildings
One of the ‘big four’ legacy facilities at the Sellafield nuclear site – the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo – is a step closer to being cleaned up thanks to the installation of the 12.4 tonne stainless steel doors which will be key to opening the building’s ‘locked vaults’.
The doors – equivalent to the weight of around 150 grown men and over 7m tall and 4m wide – will be the access point for waste retrievals machinery to safely begin lifting out the silo’s contents for the first time.
Following years of design, planning, manufacture and testing up at the Rosyth site of supply chain partners Bechtel Cavendish Nuclear Solutions and BMT, the first door safely arrived at the site in early August.
One by one, the doors have been successfully lifted into a massive 40-tonne, 9-metre wide steel door frame on the side of the building.
The doors will play a key role in reducing hazard at the site, enabling waste retrievals to start in 2020.