B220 - Research Sites Restoration Ltd

An importantpart of nuclear historyIn parallel to their fundamental research, the laboratories’ scientists have alsocontributed pioneering and seminal work on the treatment and immobilisation ofradioactive wastes, and the chemistry of wastes in underground repository conditions.A new remote-handling facility was opened in 1986.Described as ‘state-of-the-art’, it housed moveablestainless steel containment boxes within heavily shieldedenclosures. The new facility, designed for reprocessingrelatedresearch, also served another function: it providedan ideal and safe environment within which to studysimulated reactor accidents.Modern medical advancesThere have been practical and beneficial spin-offs from theendeavours of the Harwell scientists in the radiochemistrylaboratories.The potential uses of separated isotopes in severalareas, including medical and industrial applications, werequickly recognised. This groundbreaking research, whichhad its origins at Harwell, was developed at a separateRadiochemical Centre, split out from UKAEA in 1971,established at Amersham.Today, medical procedures that use radioisotopes in thediagnosis and treatment of many conditions, notablycancers, have become almost routine. Modern advancesin areas such as radiotherapy and nuclear medicalimaging techniques were influenced by these earlyscientific studies.A testament to scienceToday’s mature nuclear industry no longer requires alarge-scale facility like the radiochemistry laboratories.Since the mid-1990s, a progressive programme ofdecommissioning has been underway. Large areas ofthe building have already been cleared.In the last 15 years, a total of some 350 glove-boxes alonehave been dismantled and removed, including ten hugeand highly active floor-to-ceiling facilities – another exactingchallenge successfully met.Several laboratories have also been decommissioned andmuch of the building is now empty, kept in a state of careand maintenance, awaiting final decommissioning.After sixty years, Harwell’s radiochemistry building standsas a testament to the many fine scientists, engineers andothers who have worked there down the decades, themany benefits their researches have led to – in the nuclearindustry and far beyond – and to the robustness of a trulyunique and innovative design.B220 GPM05 DecommissioningSuccess 2000B220.29 extension 1986 B220.29 operationsRemote controlled gloveboxdismantling6 B220 60 Anniversary B220 60 Anniversary 7