Serco Waste Characterisation Services
Overview of Waste Characterisation and Related Services
LLW Repository Ltd Customer Forum
Rheged Centre, April 2012
Advise | Design | Integrate |
Deliver
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Presentation Structure
 Serco overview and relevant capability
 Background to Waste Characterisation Services frameworks
 Case studies
 Service delivery
 Key messages
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Technical Services
LLWR: Tier 1
Serco Materials
Testing
Laboratory,
Risley
Independent advice to
nuclear propulsion
Serco Radioactive
Handling Facility,
Risley
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Civil
Nuclear
Relevant Nuclear Competence

Project Management

Radioactive Waste Management
IRAS Contamination
Survey

Optioneering

Radiological Dose Assessment

Radiation Protection
ANSWERS software
Gamma Spectrometry

Computer Modelling

Waste Characterisation
Sellafield Contaminated Land &
Groundwater Management
Programme
Serco Public
Serco and LLWR

Integrated sub-contractor to UKNWM Ltd
– Technical and financial understanding of LLWR
business
– Aligned with securing cost effective management
of UK waste streams

2011 ESC understanding:
– Derivation of the radiological capacity for the
LLWR
– Development of WAC
– Key radionuclides during Period of Authorisation

LLWR Vault 9
“We understand the need
to extend the lifetime of
our national repository”
UKRWI understanding
– Existing and planned waste streams
 Cost effective consultancy

NDA Strategic LQM understanding
– Current and future land quality waste arisings on
all NDA sites
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Services Available via LLWR Framework
 Objective:
– To improve LLWR confidence that waste streams are:
 Appropriate, Minimised and WAC compliant
 Means:
– Make available to waste consignors a high quality,
consistent characterisation service
– Assist/augment/integrate with existing teams
 Physical, chemical and radiochemical
characterisation
– In-situ measurements
– Sampling and analysis
 Undertaken by people who understand:
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–
–
–
Waste Hierarchy
Segregation and treatment of waste
Maximisation of the use of excluded, exempt and VLLW
Occupational and environmental radiation protection
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Our Role in the LLWR Framework
 To Assist LLWR Ltd in its own Waste Assurance Programme

Provide independent verification of customer’s wastes
– Confirmation that waste received complies with the repository’s Waste Acceptance Criteria
 requirement under Environmental Permit

Services:
– Verification monitoring
– Verification sampling and analysis
– Equipment and process verification
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Verification Monitoring, Sampling and Analysis

To assess activity in waste packages for comparison against
customers’ own radioactivity content measurement

Methodology
– Examine customer data
– Produce container activity/dose mathematical model
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Geometrical and physical container properties
Non-homogenous density and radioactivity
Calculate total detection efficiency
– In-situ dose-rate and High Resolution Gamma Spectrometry
measurements
– Compare in-situ measurements against model
– Verification of consignment
 Gamma fingerprint
 Declared activity
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Equipment and Process Verification
 To include provision of test items for deployment to
customer sites
 To verify and assure the customer assay processes
and equipment
 Calibrated test items to be provided by NPL
– Previously conducted waste drum inter-site comparison
exercises
– Readily transferable verification methodology
 Will include witness of customer methodologies and
their data interpretation
 Deliverables include written report
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Audit Support
 To support auditing of waste consignors by providing suitably
qualified and experienced auditors
 Serco Environment & QA manager supported by:
– Additional experienced Serco auditors
– Experienced NPL auditors
 UKAS assessors experienced in auditing laboratory compliance under ISO17025
standard
 Deliverables will include written Audit reports
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Radiological Safety and Compliance
DURING CHARACTERISATION AND ASSURANCE WORK

IRR 99
– Co-operation with client RPA to determine who is “Radiation Employer”, so the duties
can be assigned to each party
– Serco is an HSE recognised RPA body

RMT Notification
– Ensuring, prior to consignment, that consignee is willing and able to accept the
consignment under their Permit

Consignment and Carriage
– Samples etc. normally consigned in Excepted Packages (UN 2910)
– Serco has an “all classes” DGSA, who specialises in Class 7 dangerous goods
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Case Study 1: JRC ISPRA, Italy
IN-SITU ASSAY AND SAMPLING
 The problem
– Components of a legacy test rig contained
0.5 – 4 kg DU in 1100 kg sodium.
– Distribution of the DU key factor in waste
treatment and disposal options
 The solution
– High sensitivity gamma flux surveys of the
massive components to identify locations
where DU was concentrated
– Quantification by in-situ HRGS with
mathematical calibration
 The outcome
– Strategy decided to segregate DU, treating
the small quantity of sodium by WVN
– Supported by subsequent sampling and
laboratory analysis, once it was practicable to
open up the components
Serco Public
Case Study 2: Pile 1 Chimney
OPTIMISATION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY
 The problem
– 4500 tons of concrete
– High activity concentration contamination on inner near surface,
rapidly reducing with depth to high volume VLLW

The opportunity
– Effective segregation would significantly reduce the quantity of
waste sent to LLWR

Our contribution to BPEO process
– Use of a number of innovative in-situ and ex-situ techniques, and
modelling to describe contamination distribution
– Model development to predict effect of different segregation
options on waste quantities and operator dose
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Innovation in Measurement Services
 Example 1:
– Pile Chimneys’ Free Release Monitoring
System
– Windscale Pile 2 Chimney concrete
represented a HVLA waste
– Waste segregation optimised by a 3-stage
monitoring system
 Initial screening
 Conveyor for particle
 1m3 bulk bag monitor
– 3000t of 4300t of concrete transported
as ‘free release’
– Saved capacity at LLWR and site VLLW
facilities
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Innovation in Measurement Services
 Example 2:
– IRAS Depth Profiler ™
– Delivers 1-mm resolution depth profile without the errors
introduced by mechanical core sectioning
– Collimated gamma spectrometer
– Analysis of drilled cores, either on site or in lab
– Pile 1 Chimney at Sellafield

30 cores

95% goodness of fitting
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NDA DRP Frameworks
 Recently reappointed on the
Direct Research Portfolio
– For example, Lot 3, Site Restoration
– Earlier rapid characterisation research
– Contaminated material that does not have a
reliable gamma fingerprint
– Demonstration of technologies
– Proposed forward programmes

Collation of data from site licence holders
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Proposals and prioritisation of tasks

Dissemination of information
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Waste Characterisation Service Delivery
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Geographical Distribution
13
 Excellent Coverage
1.
Westlakes
2.
Risley
 Rapid Response
3.
Quedgeley
 Reduced Carbon
4.
Harwell
5.
Winfrith
6.
Egremont
7.
Barrow
8.
Footprint
6 1
7
Malton
Additional Service
Capability
8
9
9.
Leyland
10.
Queensferry/Deeside
11.
Worcester
12.
Sittingbourne
13.
Dounreay
10 2
11
3
4
12
5
Serco Public
Safe Delivery

2011: RoSPA awarded President’s Award
– 10 successive years achieving their Gold Award
standard for Occupational Health & Safety

Embedded learning from 5 decades experience
– Continuously developing operational, behavioural and
observational safety processes and procedures

Excellent record of safe delivery
– Engaged in on-site activities on UK nuclear licensed
sites
– For example, 93,000+ man hours on a complex project
at Sellafield without a Lost Time Accident

Safety remains our number one priority as we
continue to work towards our Zero Harm goal
Serco Public
Key Messages
 Organisation with an impeccable nuclear safety and assurance
pedigree
 Appointed as a LLWR framework contractor, providing a full range of
waste characterisation services
 Understand LLWR and its objectives through our ESC and RWI work
 Understand the diverse range of LLWR customers
 Research and Innovation
– Proven track record of waste characterisation research
– Ideas for the future
 We are experienced, capable and committed to ensuring
successful delivery of these services
Serco Public
Key Contact for the Waste Characterisation Serv
Nick Stone
Waste Characterisation Framework Manager
Tel: 01946 518702
Mob: 0771 819 4877
E: nick.stone@serco.com
Web: www.serco.com/tcs
Serco Public