Project details
Category: Containment
Status: Complete
Client: Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS)
For more information:
Aims and Objectives
We were awarded the contract to design, manufacture and deliver the Dragon Containment Structures for NRS at its Winfrith site in Dorset.
Project Overview
The Containment Structures are part of the Dragon Reactor Decommissioning Project and are required to support the remote decommissioning of the Dragon reactor.
The Dragon reactor, built in 1964, was one of nine experimental reactors at the Winfrith site and is one of the two remaining reactors at the Winfrith site, which are both being decommissioned.
Multiple containment structures have been designed and constructed around the circular Dragon building. Many of the large complex containment structures spanning different levels, interfacing with legacy equipment and new plant and equipment designed to allow the safe dismantling of the reactor.
We worked closely with a leading panel designer, installer, and structural steel contractors to create a series of containment structures that meet the NRS requirements for the decommissioning processes.
Using composite panel systems and additional steels structures have been designed and installed in multiple locations around the circular Dragon building.
The largest containment structure being 22m long x 12m high enclosing the reactor core.
The containment structures have enabled zones and controlled access and managed ventilation protocols around the building allowing the safe and controlled conditions required for decommissioning.
The creation of these containment structures around the building has created aesthetically pleasing and de-contaminable zones and rooms that will support the on‑going the decommissioning process.
Summary
We have worked closely with NRS and its subcontractors, ensuring that the containment structures are safely installed, meet the required specification and standards, and that they can be delivered efficiently and effectively to help NRS deliver Winfrith to its interim end state.
