Portsmouth-based naval support company Fleet Support Limited (FSL) has moved into the nuclear sector with the manufacture of a £1 million waste retrieval facility for the Atomic Energy Authority plant at Harwell.

The unit, which weighs over 200 tons and required an 18-month build programme, is designed to recover cans containing radioactive waste and loose debris from underground storage tubes.

FSL was working under sub-contract to Preston-based Assystem UK Ltd, who designed the plant, and supported the Assystem engineers during the integration of the control system and testing phase after it was manufactured in FSL’s workshops at the Naval Base.

FSL Special Projects Manager Ray Terry explained: “This was an impressive example of FSL’s ability to diversify into high specification general engineering work for a new customer, supplementing our normal shiprepair and marine engineering activity.”

The unit comprised three main elements - bulk shielding, a containment box and baseplates. The bulk shielding is an enclosed box designed to prevent penetration by Gamma radiation and is assembled on a thick steel baseplate.

Inside the bulk shielding is a containment box, which is a fabricated structural steel framework internally clad with 3mm thick polished stainless steel. Inside the box is a hoist, grab and camera unit that is lowered into the storage tubes to recover the drums and loose radioactive debris, which is eventually placed in lead-lined flasks for repackaging.

The facility is expected to go live towards the end of this year and, during the eight years it is expected to take to remove the waste from all the storage tubes, will be dismantled and rebuilt some 55 times as it is moved around the various locations within the storage building.

Caption for photo: The nuclear waste retrieval facility built by FSL