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LLW Operations 2007-2050

The Repository is the UK’s only facility for disposal of LLW. Its consignors include the 19 NDA owned sites, Ministry of Defence (MOD), United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Hospitals, Universities and other UK customers.

LLW Operations are the site’s ‘core business’. It has been delivered safely and reliably in its current form since the 1980s. The service includes:

  • Receipt, grout and disposal of LLW
  • Purchase UK disposal container fleet
  • LLW disposal contract management
  • Technical advice and support to consignors
  • Introduction of best practices to UK LLW management

The LLW Repository receives waste from all UK nuclear sites but Sellafield is our main consignor accounting for 66% of waste received. We manage the disposal process through customer contracts that incentivise waste minimisation in order to maximise the use of vault availability at the Repository.

Wherever possible we arrange waste deliveries to come in by rail, using the Sellafield railhead. This reduces road traffic along minor roads and through the village of Drigg.
 
The Repository has an excellent safety record, without any Lost Time Accidents (LTA) since 2003.

LLW plant maintenance is optimised to ensure that the equipment functions correctly and that regulatory requirements are complete and in compliance with the safety case requirements.

Plant enhancement projects improve the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the disposal operations, these include:

  • Refurbishment of the Grouting Facility to prolong life and improve production efficiencies.
  • Provision of a LLW activity monitor to assay uncompactable waste. This will give better quality assurance arrangements and more robust compliance with disposal authorisations.
  • Installation of trench cap monitor equipment to monitor performance of the trench cap. This will ensure actual performance meets design intent and inform any site closure risk assessment.
  • Consideration of a scheme to recycle leachate from the trenches into the grout mix to reduce discharges to the environment.

LLWR continues to purchase the UK’s fleet of disposal containers to maximise value for money based on volume purchase. The revenue generated from this function provides further funding for site projects.