HADES: A User Facility for High Activity Decommissioning Engineering Science
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Materials Science and Engineering
Abstract
HM Government's civil nuclear energy policy has the threefold objectives of: exploiting nuclear power for low carbon, reliable and affordable electricity generation; decommissioning the legacy of historic nuclear fuel cycle activities; and safe disposal of radioactive wastes. Building on the Nuclear Industrial Strategy, the Nuclear Sector Deal set the vision for the civil nuclear sector, to deliver by 2030:
* 30% cost reduction in cost of new build projects
* Savings of 20% in cost of decommissioning compared with current estimates
* Up to £2bn domestic and international contract wins
The HADES Facility for High Active Decommissioning Engineering Science aims to play a pivotal role in realisation of these objectives through investment of a suite of equipment to enable fundamental and applied research in thermal treatment of radioactive wastes. Such technology utilises the application of heat to immobilise radionuclides and chemotoxic species within a passively safe product (a glass, slag or ceramic) suitable for interim storage and disposal. The benefits afforded by this approach are potentially game changing and include radical volume reduction and elimination of waste reactivity and organic inventory. The estimated lifecycle cost savings arising from successful implementation of thermal treatment technology in legacy nuclear decommissioning programmes are £billions in each of the UK and USA. Thermal treatment of radioactive wastes from future advanced recycle of nuclear fuels will reduce the environmental footprint of future nuclear generation, and reduce the associated waste management cost, through development of next generation materials for high level waste immobilisation, which are compatible with the challenging characteristics of such wastes and achieve a greater efficiency of waste incorporation. The technological developments achieved in these domains will realise new intellectual property and highly skilled human capital to grow the UK share of the legacy and future nuclear decommissioning market.
The HADES Facility, the only one of its kind in the UK, will enable this impact to be realised by creating unique infrastructure to handle large radioactive inventories and real radioactive wastes at the laboratory scale, to develop waveform formulation, process envelope, and product disposability to advance thermal treatment technology and enable timely implementation by current and future site licence companies. In so doing, we will nucleate grow a world leading community of practice, producing highly skilled user-researchers, through effective training and networking activities. Additionally, the unique capability established within the HADES Facility will be a beacon to attract and engage international collaboration, enabling us to pool research resources to address trans-national challenges in radioactive waste management and extending the reach of impact from the arising research beyond the UK.
* 30% cost reduction in cost of new build projects
* Savings of 20% in cost of decommissioning compared with current estimates
* Up to £2bn domestic and international contract wins
The HADES Facility for High Active Decommissioning Engineering Science aims to play a pivotal role in realisation of these objectives through investment of a suite of equipment to enable fundamental and applied research in thermal treatment of radioactive wastes. Such technology utilises the application of heat to immobilise radionuclides and chemotoxic species within a passively safe product (a glass, slag or ceramic) suitable for interim storage and disposal. The benefits afforded by this approach are potentially game changing and include radical volume reduction and elimination of waste reactivity and organic inventory. The estimated lifecycle cost savings arising from successful implementation of thermal treatment technology in legacy nuclear decommissioning programmes are £billions in each of the UK and USA. Thermal treatment of radioactive wastes from future advanced recycle of nuclear fuels will reduce the environmental footprint of future nuclear generation, and reduce the associated waste management cost, through development of next generation materials for high level waste immobilisation, which are compatible with the challenging characteristics of such wastes and achieve a greater efficiency of waste incorporation. The technological developments achieved in these domains will realise new intellectual property and highly skilled human capital to grow the UK share of the legacy and future nuclear decommissioning market.
The HADES Facility, the only one of its kind in the UK, will enable this impact to be realised by creating unique infrastructure to handle large radioactive inventories and real radioactive wastes at the laboratory scale, to develop waveform formulation, process envelope, and product disposability to advance thermal treatment technology and enable timely implementation by current and future site licence companies. In so doing, we will nucleate grow a world leading community of practice, producing highly skilled user-researchers, through effective training and networking activities. Additionally, the unique capability established within the HADES Facility will be a beacon to attract and engage international collaboration, enabling us to pool research resources to address trans-national challenges in radioactive waste management and extending the reach of impact from the arising research beyond the UK.
Planned Impact
The HADES Facility will be unique in the UK with its capability to enable thermal treatment research with high inventories of radionuclides. The Facility will be capable of addressing a diverse range radioactive waste management challenges relevant to decommissioning of UK and international nuclear sites. In summary, we therefore focus on three areas of immediate impact, each associated with a Sheffield led research projects with EPSRC and industrial support, although we have identified a considerable UK and international user base who could exploit the facility capability to advance their own research programmes.
1) Maturation of hot isostatic pressing technology to immobilise UK plutonium stockpile and residues and high dose spent adsorbents. HM Government has placed renewed focus on management of the plutonium stockpile, for which immobilisation of at least 5tHM is likely to be required. Upgrade of our existing Hot Isostatic Press with an Active Furnace Isolation Chamber and control system, will allow systematic investigation of ceramic and glass-ceramic formulations utilising U and effective Pu surrogate and optimisation of process envelopes. Translation of the research outcomes enabled by the Facility infrastructure, through effective collaboration with the National Nuclear Laboratory, Sellafield Ltd., and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, will contribute to the evidence base required to inform HM Government decision on plutonium immobilisation and an investment in a waste treatment complex. This research, which cannot currently be undertaken at any other UK facility, is timely and has the potential to address one of the highest priority challenges on the Sellafield site, from the perspective of both research outcomes and the operational experience of radiological HIP application. This work is supported by several EPSRC grant
2) Thermal treatment is one potential treatment option for spent ion exchange resins which pose a challenge to low level waste disposal, for example, due to incorporated complexants (e.g. EDTA). We are developing proof of the efficacy of thermal treatment to such wastes, which results in destruction of the complexant species and incorporation of the radionuclide inventory into a compatible glass matrix. The proposed equipment investment will support future laboratory scale development of this approach utilising real radioactive resin wastes supplied by MOD, to understand the impact of radiolytic degradation of resin on the process envelope, evolved off gas, and product quality. MOD, are undertaking a Best Practicable Environmental Option assessment for these wastes, to reduce onsite hazard in line with regulator advice. Thus, our planned research, enabled by the Facility, will be opportune because the outcomes will arise during a key window of strategy development to allow uptake by MOD to refine their waste management strategy and potentially open the first route for vitrified resin disposal at LLWR. The research outcomes will also be of interest to other waste producers.
3) The NDA Research Board has highlighted the need to "ensure that thermally treated products meet the acceptability criteria for disposal" as being of "fundamental importance" so that "disposability does not become a "show stopper" at a late stage". The RWM Science & Technology Plan specifies the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in this regard, which focus on understanding the mechanisms of plutonium (glass)-ceramics and vitrified ILW glass dissolution, and interaction with engineered back fill materials, in conceptual disposal concepts; note, also there still remain knowledge gaps concerning the fundamental mechanisms of HLW glass corrosion. The proposed equipment investment will enable the UK research community to address these challenges by enabling preparation and characterisation of conceptual wasteforms, incorporating key radioactive elements (U, Tc), for mechanistic dissolution studies.
1) Maturation of hot isostatic pressing technology to immobilise UK plutonium stockpile and residues and high dose spent adsorbents. HM Government has placed renewed focus on management of the plutonium stockpile, for which immobilisation of at least 5tHM is likely to be required. Upgrade of our existing Hot Isostatic Press with an Active Furnace Isolation Chamber and control system, will allow systematic investigation of ceramic and glass-ceramic formulations utilising U and effective Pu surrogate and optimisation of process envelopes. Translation of the research outcomes enabled by the Facility infrastructure, through effective collaboration with the National Nuclear Laboratory, Sellafield Ltd., and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, will contribute to the evidence base required to inform HM Government decision on plutonium immobilisation and an investment in a waste treatment complex. This research, which cannot currently be undertaken at any other UK facility, is timely and has the potential to address one of the highest priority challenges on the Sellafield site, from the perspective of both research outcomes and the operational experience of radiological HIP application. This work is supported by several EPSRC grant
2) Thermal treatment is one potential treatment option for spent ion exchange resins which pose a challenge to low level waste disposal, for example, due to incorporated complexants (e.g. EDTA). We are developing proof of the efficacy of thermal treatment to such wastes, which results in destruction of the complexant species and incorporation of the radionuclide inventory into a compatible glass matrix. The proposed equipment investment will support future laboratory scale development of this approach utilising real radioactive resin wastes supplied by MOD, to understand the impact of radiolytic degradation of resin on the process envelope, evolved off gas, and product quality. MOD, are undertaking a Best Practicable Environmental Option assessment for these wastes, to reduce onsite hazard in line with regulator advice. Thus, our planned research, enabled by the Facility, will be opportune because the outcomes will arise during a key window of strategy development to allow uptake by MOD to refine their waste management strategy and potentially open the first route for vitrified resin disposal at LLWR. The research outcomes will also be of interest to other waste producers.
3) The NDA Research Board has highlighted the need to "ensure that thermally treated products meet the acceptability criteria for disposal" as being of "fundamental importance" so that "disposability does not become a "show stopper" at a late stage". The RWM Science & Technology Plan specifies the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in this regard, which focus on understanding the mechanisms of plutonium (glass)-ceramics and vitrified ILW glass dissolution, and interaction with engineered back fill materials, in conceptual disposal concepts; note, also there still remain knowledge gaps concerning the fundamental mechanisms of HLW glass corrosion. The proposed equipment investment will enable the UK research community to address these challenges by enabling preparation and characterisation of conceptual wasteforms, incorporating key radioactive elements (U, Tc), for mechanistic dissolution studies.
Organisations
Publications
Ahmadzadeh M
(2020)
Structure of NaFeSiO4, NaFeSi2O6, and NaFeSi3O8 glasses and glass-ceramics
in American Mineralogist
Austin D
(2021)
A preliminary investigation of the molten salt mediated synthesis of Gd2TiO5 'stuffed' pyrochlore
in MRS Advances
Bailey D
(2023)
An Investigation of Iodovanadinite Wasteforms for the Immobilisation of Radio-Iodine and Technetium
in Ceramics
Bailey D
(2022)
Development of monazite glass-ceramic wasteforms for the immobilisation of pyroprocessing wastes
in MRS Advances
Bailey D
(2020)
Ce and U speciation in wasteforms for thermal treatment of plutonium bearing wastes, probed by L 3 edge XANES
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Bailey D
(2021)
Use of WetSEM® capsules for convenient multimodal scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and micro Raman spectroscopy characterisation of technetium oxides
in Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Barlow S
(2020)
Synthesis, characterisation and corrosion behaviour of simulant Chernobyl nuclear meltdown materials
in npj Materials Degradation
Blackburn L
(2021)
Synthesis and characterisation of HIP Ca0.80Ce0.20ZrTi1.60Cr0.40O7 zirconolite and observations of the ceramic-canister interface
in MRS Advances
Blackburn L
(2021)
Synthesis, structure, and characterization of the thorium zirconolite CaZr 1-x Th x Ti 2 O 7 system
in Journal of the American Ceramic Society
Blackburn L
(2021)
Review of zirconolite crystal chemistry and aqueous durability
in Advances in Applied Ceramics
Blackburn L
(2020)
Synthesis and characterisation of Ca1-xCexZrTi2-2xCr2xO7: Analogue zirconolite wasteform for the immobilisation of stockpiled UK plutonium
in Journal of the European Ceramic Society
Blackburn L
(2021)
Influence of accessory phases and surrogate type on accelerated leaching of zirconolite wasteforms
in npj Materials Degradation
Blackburn L
(2021)
Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy
Blackburn L
(2021)
Synthesis, structure, and characterization of the thorium zirconolite CaZr 1-x Th x Ti 2 O 7 system
in Journal of the American Ceramic Society
Blackburn L
(2020)
Hot Isostatically Pressed Zirconolite Wasteforms for Actinide Immobilisation
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Blackburn LR
(2022)
Phase Evolution in the CaZrTi2O7-Dy2Ti2O7 System: A Potential Host Phase for Minor Actinide Immobilization.
in Inorganic chemistry
Cascos VA
(2020)
Tuning between Proper and Hybrid-Improper Mechanisms for Polar Behavior in CsLn 2Ti2NbO10 Dion-Jacobson Phases.
in Chemistry of materials : a publication of the American Chemical Society
Corkhill C
(2022)
Surface interfacial analysis of simulant high level nuclear waste glass dissolved in synthetic cement solutions
in npj Materials Degradation
Dimosthenous S
(2021)
A high throughput computational investigation of the solid solution mechanisms of actinides and lanthanides in zirconolite
in RSC Advances
Ding H
(2021)
Chemical state mapping of simulant Chernobyl lava-like fuel containing material using micro-focused synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy.
in Journal of synchrotron radiation
Ding H
(2020)
Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor SIMFuel Fabricated by Hot Isostatic Pressing: a Feasibility Investigation
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Ding H
(2021)
Safely probing the chemistry of Chernobyl nuclear fuel using micro-focus X-ray analysis
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Ding H
(2022)
Chemical characterisation of degraded nuclear fuel analogues simulating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident
in npj Materials Degradation
Dixon Wilkins M
(2020)
Synthesis and characterisation of high ceramic fraction brannerite (UTi 2 O 6 ) glass-ceramic composites
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Dixon Wilkins M
(2023)
Solid solubility in the CeTi2O6-CeTiNbO6 system: A multi-element X-ray spectroscopic study
in MRS Advances
Dixon Wilkins M
(2020)
The formation of stoichiometric uranium brannerite (UTi2O6) glass-ceramic composites from the component oxides in a one-pot synthesis
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Dixon Wilkins M
(2022)
Characterisation of a Complex CaZr0.9Ce0.1Ti2O7 Glass-Ceramic Produced by Hot Isostatic Pressing
in Ceramics
Dixon Wilkins MC
(2020)
The Effect of Temperature on the Stability and Cerium Oxidation State of CeTi2O6 in Inert and Oxidizing Atmospheres.
in Inorganic chemistry
Dixon Wilkins MC
(2021)
Synthesis, Characterization, and Crystal Structure of Dominant Uranium(V) Brannerites in the UTi2-xAlxO6 System.
in Inorganic chemistry
Dixon Wilkins MC
(2023)
A multimodal X-ray spectroscopy investigation of uranium speciation in ThTi2O6 compounds with the brannerite structure.
in Scientific reports
Dube C
(2020)
Investigation of ion irradiation induced damages in iron phosphate glasses: Role of electronic and nuclear losses in glass network modification
in Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids: X
Fisher A
(2022)
Chemical structure and dissolution behaviour of CaO and ZnO containing alkali-borosilicate glass
in Materials Advances
Friskney A
(2023)
Process Development of Zirconolite Ceramics for Pu Disposition: Use of a CuO Sintering Aid
in Ceramics
Gardner L
(2021)
Temperature transformation of blended magnesium potassium phosphate cement binders
in Cement and Concrete Research
Gardner L
(2020)
Hot isostatic pressing: thermal treatment trials of inactive and radioactive simulant UK intermediate level waste
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Gardner LJ
(2021)
Thermal treatment of Cs-exchanged chabazite by hot isostatic pressing to support decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
in Journal of hazardous materials
Harnett L
(2022)
Characterisation of glass ceramic wasteforms using quantitative image analysis of electron micrographs
in MRS Advances
Harnett L
(2020)
Development of phosphate glass and multi-phase titanate ceramic compositions for thermal treatment of irradiated nuclear fuel residues
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Hyatt N
(2021)
Symposium on X-ray Spectroscopy Beyond Beamlines
in Synchrotron Radiation News
Hyatt N
(2020)
The HADES Facility for High Activity Decommissioning Engineering & Science: part of the UK National Nuclear User Facility
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Hyatt N
(2020)
Safe management of the UK separated plutonium inventory: a challenge of materials degradation
in npj Materials Degradation
Hyatt N
(2020)
Taking X-ray spectroscopy global from the kitchen table
in Synchrotron Radiation News
Johnstone EV
(2020)
Synthesis and characterization of iodovanadinite using PdI2, an iodine source for the immobilisation of radioiodine.
in RSC advances
Karcher S
(2022)
Benefits of using multiple Raman laser wavelengths for characterizing defects in a UO 2 matrix
in Journal of Raman Spectroscopy
Kearney S
(2020)
Effects of plutonium dioxide encapsulation on the physico-chemical development of Portland cement blended grouts
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Lawson S
(2020)
Synthesis and in situ ion irradiation of A-site deficient zirconate perovskite ceramics
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Mason A
(2020)
Molten salt synthesis of Ce doped zirconolite for the immobilisation of pyroprocessing wastes and separated plutonium
in Ceramics International
Mir A
(2021)
An in-situ TEM study into the role of disorder, temperature and ballistic collisions on the accumulation of helium bubbles and voids in glass-ceramic composites
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
| Description | Research undertaken in the HADES facility is supporting several aspects of the national nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste disposal mission. For example: * We are developing a systematic understanding of the solid solution mechanisms in titanate ceramics, to support design and selection of the ceramic formulation to immobilise the 140 tonne UK plutonium inventory, if required; see e.g.: J. Nucl. Mater., 556 (2020) 153198; J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 104 (2021) 2937; npj Mat. Deg., 5 (2021) 1; RSC Adv., 11 (2021) 25179; J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 40 (2020) 5909; J. Nucl. Mater., 535 (2020) 152137. * We established critical UK expertise in the application of hot isostatic pressing technology to the treatment of Sellafield and Fukushima radioactive wastes, including development of the first radiological HIP facility in the UK: J. Haz. Mater., 413 (2021) 125250; IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng., 818 (2020) 012009. * We developed mechanistic understanding of chlorine solubility within glass-ceramic materials designed for the immobilisation of around 5 tonnes of heavily (PVC) contaminated plutonium residues on the Sellafield site; this work established that a pre-treatment facility would not be required to remove chlorine contamination of the residue feed, de-risking the technology roadmap and reducing the projected capital and operational plant costs: RSC Adv., 10 (2020) 32497. These challenges will improve the effectiveness of NDA and Sellafield strategy, and government policy, by providing evidence and data to derisk technology options for waste treatment and disposal, supporting future strategic and investment decisions. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Energy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | (PREDIS) - PRE-DISposal management of radioactive waste |
| Amount | € 23,773,743 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 945098 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 08/2024 |
| Description | Development of disposal-MOX |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Orano |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 08/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Improved glass formulations for advanced oxide fuels - Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme |
| Amount | £120,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Description | Pyrochemical Waste Treatment - Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme |
| Amount | £120,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Description | hermodynamics of caesium pertechnetate volatility - Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme |
| Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Title | Stirred-Reactor Coupon Analysis test |
| Description | Previously in the nuclear waste performance community, the single-pass flow-through (SPFT) method ASTM C1662 (e.g., ASTM C1662-18 2018) has been the most common test chosen to evaluate waste form corrosion in dilute conditions. The test method consists of a target solution passed at a relatively low flow rate over a sample material (usually in particle form) and measuring the composition of the effluent by solution analyses. The typical analytical techniques for solution analyses have detection limits that can require lowering flow rates (and thus decreasing the dilution of the contacting solution) just so the concentration of ions in the resultant sample is high enough to measure. This higher concentration impacts the resultant measured rate to the extent that extrapolations of multiple measurements must be made to estimate the dissolution rate in infinitely dilute conditions. A new technique, termed the stirred-reactor coupon analysis (SRCA) method, has been developed to achieve solution dilution through a large, well-mixed volume rather than via solute flow. In this method, monolithic glass coupons are masked with an inert material before undergoing corrosion in a large volume of solution with known chemistry and temperature for a pre-determined duration. After terminating the test, the mask is removed and the step height difference between the protected and corroded portions of the sample coupon is measured to determine the extent of glass dissolution. The step height can be converted to a rate measurement using the test duration and glass density. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The method will be developed into an ASTM standard for application to understanding the durability of radioactive waste in geological disposal environments. |
| Title | HERMES - a GUI-based software tool for pre-processing of X-ray absorption spectroscopy data from laboratory Rowland circle spectrometers |
| Description | HERMES is a GUI based utility for rapid and robust pre-processing of transmission laboratory XAS data from Rowland circle spectrometers, for import into software such as ATHENA for further analysis. Following development, the HERMES backronym was later coined as Handy Energy Recalibration and Mu Evaluation Software. HERMES is free to download and distributed under the MIT Licence approved by the Open Source Imitative, the documentation is distributed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence, enabling users to adapt and modify the source code to better meet their needs, as may be desirable. HERMES is written in Java 15 and compiled and tested to work on the common laboratory Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OSX platforms. Plotting graphics are implemented using JFreeChart. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The software is the first freely available and open source software that meets the needs of a growing user community in laboratory / instrument based X-ray absorption spectroscopy for pre-processing of data to enable import into standard analysis packages. The software was developed through dialogue with an instrument manufacturer and has been recommended to, and utilised, by their customer base. |
| URL | https://github.com/xasheffield/hermes |
| Description | 'A very real problem': How resurgent nuclear reactions at Chernobyl might be dealt with to avert disaster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt was interviewed by The Independent on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and the relevance to Fukushima Dai-ici, the article highlighted our recent work on the synthesis and characterisation of Chernobyl and Fukushima corium and fuel debris. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chernobyl-nuclear-reactions-robots-drilling-b1846990... |
| Description | 'It's like the embers in a barbecue pit.' Nuclear reactions are smoldering again at Chernobyl |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt was interviewed by Science magazine on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and the relevance to Fukushima Dai-ici, drawing on recent research on Chernobyl and Fukushima corium and fuel debris. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.science.org/content/article/nuclear-reactions-reawaken-chernobyl-reactor |
| Description | Chernobyl's nuclear fuel is smoldering. To prevent another accident, researchers are studying the site's radioactive lava. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt and Prof. Claire Corkhill were interviewed by Business Insider on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and discussed ongoing research to understand the formation and behaviour of corium materials at Chernobyl and Fukushima Dai-ici, and management of radioactive wastes more broadly. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-radioactive-lava-prevent-nuclear-accident-2021-5?r=US&IR=T |
| Description | Chernobyl: nuclear material may be re-igniting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt was interviewed by the Naked Scientist podcast on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and the relevance to Fukushima Dai-ici. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/chernobyl-nuclear-material-may-be-re-igniting |
| Description | Collaboration Workshop on Facilities for Materials and Environmental Radiochemistry Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A one day Collaboration Workshop on Facilities for Materials and Environmental Radiochemistry Research was held on 24th February 2020, to kick off development of the HADES project and showcase the NNUF 2 investment in this and the RADER and UTGARD facilities. The capability of the facilities was presented with a tour of the HADES facility. A workshop activity was also delivered to enable the user community to identify gaps in available capability for future development. One important gap identified by the community was the lack of facilities and fragile capability for studies of surrogate spent nuclear fuel disposal, which require rigorously anoxic glove box capability. This led to development and submission of the PLEIADES facility proposal to the NNUF2a call. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Covid and clean air |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt was interviewed by BBC Science In Action on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and the relevance to Fukushima Dai-ici, drawing on recent research on Chernobyl and Fukushima corium and fuel debris. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1l3m |
| Description | Experimental User community workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A day-long webinar describing the capabilities and research outputs of the National Nuclear User Facilities -- PLEIADES, HADES, EXACT and RADER -- was held. Approximately 40 people (postgrad students, academic staff, regulators and nuclear industry representatives) attended to learn about how to access the facilities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | GDF Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Neil Hyatt was invited as the facilitator and panel chair for the Geological Disposal Facility Conference 2021, delivered by Radioactive Waste Management, in recognition of his international standing in the field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/geological-disposal-programme-now-under-way |
| Description | HADES Facility Open Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A one day open day was held on 6th February 2020, to showcase the HADES facility to potential national and international users and research collaborators. The event attracted 30 delegates who participated in tours of the facility and demonstrations of instrumentation and equipment. An overview presentation of facility equipment and capability was also provided. This event elicited expressions of interest in future use of the facility and collaboration from the delegates. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Joint Research Conference on Thermal Treatment of Radioactive Wastes with the EC THERAMIN Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The conference attracted more than 120 delegates from the UK, Europe and USA for a two day meeting (4 - 5th February 2020) on development of thermal treatment technology and its applications. The meeting renewed and established collaborative partnerships with several chimerical organisations, who expressed an interest in using the capability within the HADES facility. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Journal Highlights |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Our paper in MRS Advances titled "A feasibility investigation of laboratory based x-ray absorption spectroscopy in support of nuclear waste management" (https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2020.44), was featured as a highlight article in the Materials Research Society Bulletin in January 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43577-021-00233-x |
| Description | Nuclear reactions are discovered smouldering 'like embers at a barbecue' in an inaccessible chamber at Chernobyl, sparking gears of another explosion at the power plant. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt was interviewed by The Daily Mail on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and the relevance to Fukushima Dai-ici, drawing on recent research on Chernobyl and Fukushima corium and fuel debris. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9570439/Nuclear-reactions-smouldering-like-embers-ba... |
| Description | Nuclear reactions at Chernobyl are spiking in an inaccessible chamber |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Neil Hyatt was interviewed by New Scientist on the potential resurgence of nuclear fission within the fuel debris of the Chernobyl reactor and the relevance to Fukushima Dai-ici, drawing on recent research on Chernobyl and Fukushima corium and fuel debris. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.newscientist.com/article/2277195-nuclear-reactions-at-chernobyl-are-spiking-in-an-inacce... |
| Description | Seminar series - Cloud Conference on Radioactive Waste Management |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A seminar series - Cloud Conference on Radioactive Waste Management, was organised immediately following the UK national lockdown in March 2020. Five seminars were held on a monthly basis attracting 70-100 participants on each occasion. Talks were drawn from across the UK research community, featuring early and mature research investigators from academia and industry, working within the broad area of radioactive waste management. Participants reported their appreciation of this networking activity to maintain community collaboration and knowledge transfer in the absence of in person events and travel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/materials/news/cloud-conference-brings-current-research-nation-lockdown |
| Description | Simulant material could aid in Fukushima cleanup |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article on Paul Scherrer Institute and Swiss Light Source website, as front page, highlighting our research on synthesis and characterisation of Fukushima corium. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.psi.ch/en/media/our-research/simulant-material-could-aid-in-fukushima-cleanup |
| Description | The Continuing Story of the Nuclear Waste Bill |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Radio Interview on BBC Inside science discussing management and disposal of radioactive waste and highlighting recently published research on synthesis and characterisation of Fukushima coriums. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0013zm3 |
| Description | The nuclear dilemma |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Claire Corkhill was featured in the BBC short "The nuclear dilemma", explaining the nature, management and disposal of radioactive wastes in the context of nuclear power generation to address climate change and the Fukushima dai-ici accident. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/the-nuclear-dilemma/p09rsq3p |
| Description | Webinar on UK Active Research Facilities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A one day webinar was held on 10 June 2020, in partnership with the TRANSCEND project, to showcase UK facilities for working with high activity materials and the TRANSCEND Active Research Fund. The webinar featured presentations on the HADES, UTGARD, DCF and NNL Central Laboratory facilities. The webinar facilitated a Q&A session with facility operators to assist the user community with planning future access. The event elicited interest from both existing and future users of the facilities for future access. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |