Watchdog on Sellafield Divers

Underwater divers have successfully entered a nuclear pond at Sellafield and completed 14 dives to remove waste from a longstanding storage facility in a milestone achievement at the site. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) granted permission to Sellafield Ltd for underwater divers to access the Pile Fuel Storage Pond (PFSP) following a rigorous series of assessments and appraisals of the work in Cumbria. The use of divers replicates a well-established technique previously carried out internationally and at other UK nuclear sites during their decommissioning phase. The PFSP was commissioned for operation in the 1950s for the receipt and storage of fuel and isotopes from the Windscale Piles. It is one of oldest and most hazardous facilities on the Sellafield site, containing spent fuel, sludge, radioactive and contaminated solids, intermediate level waste and low-level waste, pond water and contaminated concrete. While significant progress has been made in removing historic waste from the facility with more than 75% of the waste safely taken out so far, divers are needed to help extract the remaining inventory. Removing the remaining material from the pond and placing it into modern safe storage is a strategic priority for Sellafield and a key regulatory priority for ONR.