UK LOW LEVEL WASTE REPOSITORY – TRANSPORT PACKAGE DESIGNS ADAPTING TO THE WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY

The Low Level Waste Repository has been the UK’s primary low level waste disposal facility since the 1959 and has undergone many strategic changes over 50 years of operation. Recent UK waste forecasting reveals that the Repository is being filled at an unsustainable rate. Waste management assessments are concluding that through successful segregation, diverting to landfill or recycling facilities the volume of waste sent to the Repository could reduce, by approximately 30%, extending the life of the Repository for another 50 years. Since the 1980’s very/low activity waste has been transported to the UK Repository in specially designed single use disposable IP-2 ISO Freight Containers, for final disposal in the concrete vaults. Adapting to the waste management hierarchy, LLW Repository Ltd is in the mature stages of developing new re-usable package designs for the transport of low activity wastes to treatment facilities for recycling and for transporting very low activity wastes to authorized land fill sites. This paper briefly describes and discusses the two new package designs and focuses on the safety and operational considerations of designing re-usable packages to load, restrain, transport and unload raw or pre-containerized low activity wastes. Design Number IP-2/LLWR/TC02 is a re-usable half height ISO Container designed to transport metal for recycling. The design comprises of a stainless steel containment barrier affixed to the inside of the mild steel outer structure. Internal content restraint is achieved by the integral interlocking stillage system, which excludes the need for man access to the package cavity. Design Number IP-1/LLWR/TC11 is a re-usable steel framed outer with four disposable soft sided inner liners to transport very low activity wastes to landfill. The outer frame design is based on the half height ISO Container footprint with a panel -less type body. The liners comprise of specially manufactured and tested fabric with mechanical closure system forming the containment barrier.