The Pile Fuel Storage Ponds (PFSP) at Sellafield are among the most challenging nuclear decommissioning projects in Europe. Following the completion of a key stage in the removal of larger solid wastes from the ponds, a new dewatering and descaling project could commence.
This new project required two enhanced handling systems in order to reach hard-to-access parts of the PFSP’s structure, and to avoid potential collisions with existing lifting equipment.
Procured for Sellafield via Cumbria Nuclear Solutions Ltd (CNSL), SCX engineered two single girder cranes, each tailored to the ponds’ existing infrastructure and the task of enabling the next phase of decommissioning at Sellafield’s PFSP facility.
A 2-tonne MOTS crane with a bespoke extending, cantilevered bridge reaches into the numerous recesses along the pond’s wall. And a 4-tonne COTS+ crane equipped with collision avoidance technology shares the same rails as the existing 12-tonne pond crane.