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The final farewell to PCM
Last transfer of material to Sellafield site marks the end of a long-standing commitment to the local community
The Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) team celebrated success recently with the final transfer of bulk Plutonium Contaminated Material (PCM) from the repository to the Sellafield site.
The achievement marks the completion of a long-standing commitment to the local community to retrieve all intermediate level waste from the repository.
Elaine Woodburn, Leader of Copeland Borough Council, David Moore, Chairman of the West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group (WCSSG), and representatives from Drigg and Carleton Parish Council and the local community were on site on July 11 to mark one of the last containers of PCM leaving site for Sellafield.
Chris Halliwell, Managing Director, LLWR, said: "We are delighted to see the last shipments of bulk PCM being taken from the site and, while it has been challenging, we are pleased to have fulfilled our promise to the local community.
"Today is the culmination of the sustained efforts of a dedicated retrievals team and substantial financial investment by the company.
"These efforts have seen over 11,000 drums and 550 containers retrieved from historic magazine storage safely and without incident. Given the unknown nature of the waste associated with these magazines, this is an incredible achievement for the team."
David Moore, Chairman of WCSSG, said: "The community and the West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group LLWR Sub-Committee has campaigned for a long time to see all PCM transferred from the repository back to Sellafield.
"It has been a long road, but the time taken is not important. What is important is that the project has been completed safely with no one hurt and with no radiological release.
"We are grateful that the site's management has recognised the issue as one of genuine concern for the community and I am glad that we are able to stand here today to mark the completion of this retrieval project. Congratulations to all concerned!"
The LLWR team has overcome a number of challenges to complete this achievement. The largest of these was the incomplete historic records which accompanied the PCM held on site along with the discovery of large uncontained items of PCM.
James Millington, head of programme delivery, LLWR, said: "The team has faced each of these challenges with safety and security at the forefront of their minds and has taken due care and attention to make sure that the safe systems of work in place for the project were fit-for-purpose."
PCM sent to the Sellafield site has been transferred to an engineered drumstore.
