Sellafield Nuclear Site

The Box Encapsulation Project Product Store Direct Import Facility (BEPPS DIF) was a new build necessary to help treat the legacy waste streams from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS). The overall scope included complex High Integrity Containment systems which filter contaminated air to ensure the safety of those within the facility and surrounding areas. The project was designed to clean up one of the most hazardous buildings in Western Europe.

Exyte Hargreaves’ scope included the selection and procurement of all plant & equipment ranging from HEPA filter banks to concrete liners which transfer air through a very thick concrete slab.

Evaporator D (Evap D) was an additional facility to increase the current existing capacity required for the evaporation (condensing) and storage of highly active effluents produced from existing reprocessing operations at Sellafield. As Evaporator C had outlived its shelf life, the delivery of this project was essential to ensure safe nuclear reprocessing of highly active liquor.

Sellafield required a replacement spray paint booth, with dedicated ventilation system, to use in a nuclear fuel transport flask maintenance. The new unit replaced one that was obsolete and contained upgrades for compliance with legislation / safety standards.

Exyte Hargreaves supplied and installed the complete new ventilation system. We also engaged and managed key subcontractors for all associated scaffolding, civils, electrical, mechanical and instrumentation works. Installation of the ductwork system was by experienced Hargreaves Installers with appropriate security status working within radioactive areas,

Project SAV (Separation Area Ventilation) involved the replacement of legacy ventilation systems, re-routing of exhaust ductwork and the creation of new filters and a discharge stack at Sellafield. The project decommissioned the stack associated with the primary separation and head end facility, a major landmark on the site dating from the 1940’s.

The proposed decommissioning required a new stack with a large filter and fan house with ventilation re-routed around the site. Exyte Hargreaves fabricated a network of 3,000 metres of ductwork and this was installed onto existing and new high level pipe bridges.

The project comprised a new extract and filtration system for the Windscale Advanced Gas Reactor (WAGR) decommissioning project at Sellafield. It provides negative pressure in the vault area and ensures complete recovery of all airborne particles during the oxy-propane cutting of the remaining reactor shell.

The plant was fully assembled off site at our Manufacturing facility in Bury. During the two-week modularisation project, materials similar in size and density to the cutting residues were introduced in controlled quantities. Coarse, medium, fine and superfine residues, down to particle sizes of 0.12 micron (less than 1/200,000 of an inch), were captured with a 100 per cent recovery rate. The plant was designed by engineers from BNFL Environmental Services and was fabricated by Hargreaves to their exact specification. The system has four stages of separation and filtration.