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NIS win major Sellafield waste inspection contract
NIS Ltd has secured an order worth over £3 million to provide the design, manufacture and integration of a new non-destructive assay facility for the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing site.
NIS will lead a team which also includes 3DX-Ray, HG Systems, Nicholsons conveyors and Amec to supply radiography, control systems, conveyors, and site works.
Contaminated waste is presently treated at the site before being held in interim storage in the Engineered Drum Stores. This material requires extremely careful management to ensure both the safety and security of the site, and also to comply with stringent regulatory legislation.
Drums are currently inspected to verify their contents and obtain accurate measurements of the radioactive material inside. However, the existing facility requires upgrading to handle the planned increase in waste treatment throughput, to support future Sellafield operations, and to process feed drums containing certain types of waste. The system provided by NIS will combat both of these problems and will determine the contents of the drums through non-intrusive radiographic inspections.
The design and manufacture of all mechanical handling equipment as well as the assembly, integration and testing of the inspection suite will be undertaken at NIS' main UK base in Chorley, Lancashire.
NIS Ltd specialise in the design and manufacture of bespoke plant and equipment for a broad range of high technology industries, including extensive nuclear experience as well as a track record of delivering cargo scanning solutions for the security sector.