NUCLEAR
Sellafield ponds were built in the 1950s…
decommissioning required enhanced handling systems to be added in order to reach hard-to-access parts of the PFSP’s structure.
…and are now being cleared of radioactive waste.
Working with Cumbria Nuclear Solutions, SCX engineered two single girder cranes, each tailored to the ponds’ existing infrastructure. In the decanning area a MOTS (Modified Off-the-shelf) overhead travelling crane with a 2t SWL chain hoist, 4.4m lift and 74m travel has been installed. The crane was given a bespoke extending, cantilevered bridge to reach into
the numerous recesses along the pond’s wall. The cantilever extends the crane’s 2.8m cross travel by 50% to give access into recesses in the pond buildings where a standard crane could not reach. Nose guide wheel help the extended bridge to reach as close as possible to the pond walls without damage. Long-and cross-travel motions are controlled via variable speed drives operated by radio remote pendant. In the main area, a 4t COTS+ (Commercial off-the-shelf) crane equipped with collision avoidance technology shares the same rails as the existing 12t machine. Electrical control and enhancements to the COTS and the 12t crane are in strict compliance with Sellafield’s high-specification wiring and labelling regulations. The fully-segregated anti-collision safety system is designed to SIL2, BS12100 and BS13849 standards; laser and photo-electric positioning is fitted to both cranes in view of the rail-sharing. The Berkeley nuclear power station was a Magnox unit on the River Severn in Gloucestershire; it opened in 1962 and closed in 1989. Decommissioning is ongoing and is one of the largest nuclear remediation efforts worldwide. Here, too, SCX are involved. The fuel element debris (FED) facility there handles packages of intermediate level waste (ILW). The older commercial cranes on the site were deemed no longer fit for purpose, so SCX delivered a new mechanical handling solution, with semi-automated operation, to satisfy the enhanced safety case. The solution has to collect empty Ductile Cast Iron Containers, deliver them into the facility, then return active containers to a transfer car for onward processing. It must do so with high integrity. The safety case demanded multiple and diverse layers of safety, load arrest and load recovery. It also needed to deliver semi- automated, remote operation to minimise any potential operator exposure. Working with Cavendish Nuclear Limited, SCX designed, built, tested and installed two identical 32t nuclear cranes for the purpose. Each crane has a twin-hoist lifting solution, a bespoke motorised rotating grapple, plus on each hoist a load arrest devices by MotoSuiveur. Control, power and safety systems are physically and electrically segregated and follow diverse designs; this is to eliminate and possible systematic failure points that might be common to both. Primary control is through a remote HMI station; wired and radio-pendants give back-ups. Operations are performed remotely and semi- automatically for all moves that carry exposure risks; dosimetry checks and CCTV observations are made before the operators return to the crane. Load security is of course important. The motorised grapple has a two-stage lifting frame, designed to interface with a wide range of different load packages. Manual twist locks engage and disengage with shielded packages; the system is designed to accommodate a degree of misalignment in shielded packages arriving under the hoist but throughout the various lifting tasks datum points are stored by the hoist and grapple to allow precise automatic return of packages.
28 | November/December 2026 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
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