Sludge Packaging Plant (SPP1)
Background
The Sludge Packaging Plant (SPP1) Buffer Store will be responsible for hydraulically receiving legacy sludge from the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond and storing it safely, ready for future processing into a product suitable for long term storage or disposal.
Work commenced on site clearance in November 2005, and involved the demolition and clearance of a number of redundant facilities. Site preparation was completed in September 2007 and, following construction of a perimeter fence, the area was moved out of the Separation Area, improving accessibility and reducing risk to workers.
Challenges
Restrictions due to the sensitivity of adjacent facilities - which preclude the use of many conventional construction techniques such as large telescopic boom cranes, tower cranes, or placement booms for concrete - have provided the biggest challenge to this project so far.
The next anticipated challenges likely to face this project include installation of a self-erecting jib crane to facilitate the completion of the roof slab, the construction and installation of the BSVs (Buffer Storage Vessels) and the construction of the Pipe Bridge which will connect the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond facility with SPP1.
The construction of the roof slab will be completed in 3 sections, incorporating almost 400 tonnes of reinforcing steel, 700 en-cast items and 1000 m3 of concrete.
Achievements
The first concrete pour of the new structure took place on Tuesday 6 May 2008. MP for Copeland, Jamie Reed, pressed the button to start the pour, as well as receiving a cheque for £1,000 for charity, the result of excellent performance in the SPP1 safety accumulator scheme.
In February 2009, the first concrete pour on the buffer cell was completed marking a halfway stage for the team. The pour took the total volume of concrete poured on the project to 2360m3, or 400 mixer wagon loads, since May 2008. This takes the project past the 50 per cent mark, in terms of volume of concrete cast.
In November 2009 the ECV (Effluent Collection Vessel) was delivered to site. The transportation of the ECV required alterations to road signs and barriers within the separation area and the re-routing of emergency escape routes. It was then manoeuvred along the South Side of the facility using a self-propelled modular transporter and slid into the ECV cell on a rail transfer system. The size & mass of the ECV necessitated a large amount of civil re-work to the surrounding infrastructure. In addition, the site boundary fence had to be extended, so part of the existing Separation Area had to be radiologically checked so it could be re-categorised as clean.
The project has fixed 820 te of steel reinforcement to date, almost all of which has had to be manually handled, and poured 3,340 m3 of concrete, all without any rework. This progress shows that, even with the severe safety restrictions that the team are bound to, construction of the SPP1 Buffer is progressing forward safely and with quality firmly in mind.
Most importantly on the 1st April 2010 a massive achievement for all involved with the project was the project achieving 6 years, and almost 700,000 man-hours, without a Recordable Injury or Reportable Incident.
Sludge Packaging Plant
