Annual Report for 2010/11 and Forward Programme - Sellafield Ltd

SSEM/2011/4730 June 2011Table 3.5. Find classification showing the types of beach finds recovered on beachessurrounding Sellafield.MonitoringareaAlpha-rich Beta-rich Cobalt-richTotal in2010/11Allonby 0 0 0 0Harrington 2 0 0 2Parton 0 0 0 0Whitehaven 8 1 0 9St Bees 57 3 0 60Nethertown 0 0 0 0Braystones 107 7 1 115Sellafield 128 49 0 177Seascale 10 0 0 10Drigg 10 0 0 10Total 322 60 1 383In addition to the alpha and beta rich find classification, a total of 13 finds have beenallocated a 60 Co rich classification since the large area beach programme began in 2006.During 2010/11, only one 60 Co rich find was recovered from Braystones beach.Generally, 60 Co activity in the nuclear industry is associated with neutron activation of steelcomponents of the reactor fuel or its support structure. Superficially, this might appear tooffer an easier route for identifying the time and source of the release into the environment.In reality, however, the complexity of fuel handling and reprocessing operations together withsubsequent effluent treatment makes a definitive assessment very difficult. At Sellafield, a60 Co rich particle was found on Sellafield beach in 1988 close to the factory sewer outfall,which prompted an investigation into its potential source. Despite being able, from the tracemetals analysis, to identify which batch of fuel it was derived from, it was not possible todetermine how it came to be on the beach.© Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 2011. 28