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Crane helps lift Capenhurst towards a new future
Capenhurst moved a step closer to a new future this week with the arrival of a 200 tonne crane on site that was brought in to remove redundant parts of the decommissioned diffusion plant.
The crane was called in by Sellafield Ltd, part-operator of the site, and it removed six exterior roof access ladders from the building - it also removed the cost of having to maintain them unnecessarily. This principle has been applied to much of the unused infrastructure of the plant, including copper power cabling, which was removed and recycled generating £250,000 to accelerate clean-up work.
The crane began its work on Thursday 12th March, when each of the ladders were cut away from the building with a reciprocating saw, before being lifted high above the site. The project concluded on Friday 13th March without any incidents or accidents.
Steve Beverley, who oversaw the operation on behalf of Sellafield Ltd, said:
"It was an impressive sight to see the crane fully extended over the roof of the former diffusion plant. After an initial setting up period, the cutting and lifting was very quick and it was really impressive to see the team work between the crane operator and his banksman, who were frequently operating out of site of each other.
"Careful planning and safe execution prevented the curse of Friday 13th becoming a reality on this occasion."
With just a handful of waste disposal tasks remaining in Capenhurst’s decommissioning programme, Sellafield Ltd is working with the site’s owner, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, to bring major new projects to the site that will accelerate hazard reduction and generate income – this will reduce the cost of the site’s work to the UK taxpayer.
Sellafield Ltd’s head of site, Phil Malem, said: “Planning for the future is already generating requirements for new people as we reshape our skills profile towards project development and uranic materials management.
“We graciously acknowledge the successes achieved during decommissioning, particularly our safety record, but we’re not a site that’s winding down. We’re the first UK nuclear site to face the business challenges of life after decommissioning and we’re tackling them with a positive, commercial mindset that offers a bright future for those with the right skills to deliver our aspirations and those of the NDA.
“The future of the site looks really positive and we’re building a team that will develop what is already a national asset into a business that generates greater value for our customer, our owners and for the UK taxpayer.”
