Publication Laka-library:
Leakage of radioactive liquor into the ground 15-3-79
| Author | Health & Safety Executive |
| Date | 1980 |
| Classification | 2.05.8.31/02 (UNITED KINGDOM - SELLAFIELD - ACCIDENTS) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Summary The Windscale and Calder works of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd has as its primary function the reprocessing of irradiated fuel to recover uranium, to separate plutonium, and to store the highly active fission products which form the main radioactive waste material in the irradiated fuel. In the primary separation plant, building B205, irradiated fuel elements are dissolved in nitric acid and waste products separated by solvent extraction processes from uranium and plutonium. Waste fission products are then piped to building B212. From here they can be directed, via either of two eight-way diverters, to building B215 for concentration and storage or passed temporarily to buffer storage tanks in building B212 itself. There are also positions on the diverters to enable the liquor to be diverted into an ageing tank in the adjacent building B701 Export Plant. From this plant the liquor was dispatched to Harwell for use in early glassification experiments during the 1950s and the last such consignment was sent in 1958. There is no evidence that the building has ever been decommissioned. Because of the possibility of spillage the inside walls and floor of the Export Plant are clad with metal and drain into a sump vessel. Owing to high radiation levels, there is no access by personnel to buildings B212 or B701 and all operations are performed outside concrete shielding. Discovery of contamination Unexpected radioactive contamination was discovered during a hydrogeological survey, commenced by BNFL in 1978, to investigate the water table beneath the site following a leak from the B38 silo. A report on that leak was published in February 1980. Analysis of water samples revealed the presence of short-lived fission products below ground which indicated that a recent leak of radioactive liquor had occurred. Additional measurements in a pattern of new boreholes confirmed that building B701 was the source of the contamination, and video-camera examination showed liquid up to 10-15 cm from the top of the metal cladding.
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