Delight at Harwell delicensing - Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd

For and about the
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Delight at Harwell
delicensing
Seven hectares of land at
Harwell has been delicensed,
the largest area in the UK to be
removed from nuclear regulation to date.
The Nuclear Installations
Inspectorate issued a variation
to the Harwell Nuclear Site
Licence on 30 September,
delicensing the land. The variation was based upon a detailed
case submitted by UKAEA
demonstrating that there is no
danger from ionising radiation
in the area.
The newly delicensed area, at
the eastern end of the licensed
site, is a further step in
UKAEA’s mission to restore its
sites for alternative use. At
Harwell this will mean its incorporation into the Harwell
Science
and
Innovation
Campus.
UKAEA is submitting cases
for further areas to be delicensed
and, once approval is given, the
perimeter fence will be relocated
to reflect the new licensed site
boundary.
Forty-three facilities once
stood on the delicensed area,
nine of them used for work
involving radioactivity, including Hangar 9 which housed the
engineering workshops. Now
these facilities have been
decommissioned and the land
and buildings certified free of
ionising radiation and available
for non-nuclear development.
Paul Atyeo, Head of
Decommissioning
and
Remediation, said, “Credit for
this achievement must go to the
Harwell delicensing team,
primarily Clark Colyer, who
started work on the pilot project
in 1999, and Susan Holdroyd,
who have both worked hard to
see it through to this successful
conclusion.”
The JET experimental
programme, which resumed
on 25 September, has already
produced some significant
results.
The restart signals the
beginning of an exciting new
phase for JET, following a
successful programme to
recondition the vacuum
vessel and heating systems.
Although the experimental
campaigns only began in
September, there have
already been some important
scientific successes, as EFDA
Associate Leader Francesco
Romanelli explained.
Continued on page 3
Dounreay
Gateway Reviews
explained : 2
Dounreay facility
complete : 3
JET programme restarts
Culham
Issue : 84
November
2006
Harwell
Windscale
Windscale hosts
international
conference : 6
Safety programme
rolls out : 7
Plus all the news
from your site…
Winfrith
2
UKAEATODAY November 2006
Information
management
workshop
A workshop on information
management in the nuclear
sector is being held on 24
November, at The Centre,
Birchwood Park,
Warrington, hosted by
Tessella Support Services.
The free workshop will
include presentations from:
Nirex, the NDA, British
Nuclear Group, the Digital
Preservation Coalition,
British Library (PLANETS),
DEFRA Radioactive Waste
Policy Group, and Tessella
Support Services plc.
For details of the agenda
and how to book a place
please visit:
www.tessella.com/nuclear
workshop
ISaT Tip
Picture
This
With the inclusion of pictures –
particularly photographs – some
documents can take up a huge
amount of disk space. This isn't
just a storage problem, it can
also lead to corruption of the file
and make the distribution of the
file to others difficult.
Office XP has a new feature
which allows you to compress
pictures in a document,
sometimes dramatically reducing
the overall file size. To access this
feature, take the following steps.
1) Select a picture in the
document, and choose
Format, Picture... from the
menu bar. (This may be
Format, Object..., depending
on how the pictures were
inserted.)
2) On the "Picture" tab, click on
the Compress... button.
3 You now need to decide which
pictures to compress, and
how much to compress them
by. We would typically choose
"All Pictures in Document"
and "Web/Screen". The
resolution refers to the detail
contained within the picture.
The higher the resolution, the
greater the detail and the
larger the file.
4) Click OK twice to apply the
change, and save your
document again. You should
find the file size is noticeably
smaller.
In one example, a PowerPoint
presentation, containing lots of
photographs originally over
100Mb, was reduced to just
over 10Mb after compressing
the images.
Please note: The best way to
get pictures into your documents
is to always use the Insert >
Picture > From File... option.
Trying to compress pictures
which have been copied and
pasted will not have such good
results and may not work at all.
For more information on the
services ISaT provides, including
more hints and tips, visit the
pages on the UKAEA Intranet
Successful project delivery
Gateway Reviews – a success story
UKAEA has been using the
Gateway Review process to
help improve the chances of
successful project delivery for
the past three years. In that
time, some 24 independent
Reviews at different stages of
project lifecycles have taken
place.
Good Reviews
Gateway Reviews were introduced by the Office of
Government Commerce (OGC)
for all civil central government
acquisition programmes and
procurement projects, to
provide assurance that projects
can proceed successfully to the
next stage.
“A Review is not an audit,”
stressed Stephen Foyle,
UKAEA’s Gateway Co-ordinator and himself an accredited
OGC Reviewer. “It is an
advisory process, offering
confidential advice to the
project sponsor to ensure that
stakeholders fully understand
the project and its issues and
that the best available skills
and experience are deployed on
the project.”
Far from being apprehensive,
project managers should make
the most of the opportunity,
says Harwell’s Roy Manning,
who has experienced the
process at first hand. “It’s your
chance to showcase your
projects. A good project equals
a good Review,” he says.
What is involved?
Each project is examined at
five critical stages – Gateways
1 to 5 – in its lifecycle. In
addition, there is a strategic
assessment – Gateway 0 – at
the start of programmes and
periodically afterwards.
Reviews are carried out by
experienced, external teams,
independent of project teams.
Nationally, the community of
Reviewers numbers around
1,000 who between them have
carried out more than 1,450
Reviews since February 2001,
covering around 700 projects
and programmes. Value for
money gains in 2004/05 were
£899m and for 2003/04 £730m,
bringing total savings to more
than £1.5b since 2003.
UKAEA has 15 active
Gateway Reviewers across its
sites, who are called upon to
conduct external Reviews
across Government departments and their agencies.
After the Review assessment, which normally takes
three to four days, the Review
team prepares a written report,
giving ‘traffic light’ status to
the actions it recommends –
from red (immediate action),
through amber (action before
the next Review) to green (may
benefit from action).
Dounreay
To date, 13 Reviews of
Dounreay projects have taken
place, including the latest, on
the Prototype Fast Reactor
(PFR) Effluent Treatment Plant
(ETP) project.
To the delight of the people
working on the PFR ETP, the
project received confirmation
of its readiness for service. The
Review team recognised the
exemplary performance of
UKAEA Project Manager Mick
Moore and his team, concluding that the project had been
well managed, instilling confidence in stakeholders, and
highlighting several instances
of good practice.
Mick Moore said, “The
entire project team has shown
dedication and enthusiasm to
construct and commission this
new facility, meeting our
project milestones ahead of
time, while maintaining an
impeccable safety record.
Praise is due to all involved.”
Winfrith
So far there have been seven
Gateway Reviews at Winfrith,
at Gateways 1, 2 and 3 and
Gateway 0. All were successful.
In July 2004 and October
2006, Gateway 0 Reviews took
strategic looks at the plan for
the closure of the UKAEA
Winfrith site. “The Review
team spoke to key stakeholders, including the local MP,
council leader and environmental groups, to make sure that
what was planned was understood and acknowledged by the
local stakeholder community,”
said Project Manager Andy
Staples
They found that the Winfrith
programme was in a “good
state of preparation” with “a
well qualified and experienced
team, and strong support within
UKAEA and with external
stakeholders.” They said the
technical and commercial
strategies “have both been
worked through seriously and
competently.”
Harwell
A total of three OGC Gateway
Reviews have been held of
Harwell projects, all successful.
The first major UKAEA
project to be reviewed was
Harwell’s Waste Encapsulation
Plant (WEP), which was taken
through Gate 3 in August 2003.
As Roy Manning,
Programme Manager of the
Active Waste Retrieval
UKAEA Gateway Co-ordinator Stephen Foyle and Reviewer Chris Broad
Programme, explains, the
project went through the
process again in February
2005. “We had to find ways to
reduce the cost of the project to
bring it within site funding
limits. Having done this, we
were required to take the
scheme through Gateway 3
once again.
“I’m pleased to say once
again it passed at green. The
project is now well and truly
underway and construction is
taking place. The next Gateway
Review will be Gateway 4 –
Readiness for Service. This is
about 18 months away.”
In August 2004 the B462.9
Waste Retrieval Machine RM2
project was taken through
Gateway 3 - Investment
Decision. It received an amber
marking, meaning the project
was considered to be “on target
to succeed” but required
actions, set against recommendations, to be completed before
the main RM2 contract was
placed. “These were cleared,”
said Roy, “and like WEP, RM2
has proceeded and is now
nearing completion. Gateway 4
is some way off but our
attitude is, bring it on!”
Windscale
A Gateway Review of the
Windscale Piles’ programme
was carried out in late October
and December’s UKAEA
Today will report the outcome.
Evolving
The future of the Gateway
Review process will evolve, as
a consequence of company
restructuring.
Once the Site Licence
Companies are in place, their
projects will fall outside OGC’s
remit. In its place will be
UKAEA’s own Gate system,
derived from the OGC Gateway
Review process but driven by
sites rather than corporate.
The system is designed to
comply with the requirements
of the NDA’s CT-14 procedure
– Project Validation and
Financial Sanction. This
contractually requires UKAEA
to have such a process and to
have certain projects and other
work sanctioned by the NDA.
The new approvals process
is set out in revised procedure
PRC0020 Project Approvals
and Gate Review, which is in
the process of endorsement by
the Executive Committee. This
is expected to be rolled out to
all sites during November.
If you have any questions,
please contact David Edwards
(Harwell x4208) or Stephen
Foyle (Harwell x6977).
November 2006 UKAEATODAY
3
Construction of £10m facility CNC retirement JET AGM Competition
Construction
of new waste
store complete
Dounreay
The multi-million pound construction of a new wastehandling facility adjacent to Dounreay’s existing
cementation plant is complete.
Extensive inactive commissioning will now be
undertaken to confirm that the as-built facility meets
defined plant performance and functional
requirements and to ensure compliance with the
facility safety case.
Once active commissioning is complete, and
subject to regulatory consents, the facility will be
handed over to operational personnel for active
commissioning. It is scheduled to become
operational in November 2007.
This new facility will increase the site’s capacity for
the storage of solid intermediate-level waste from the
decommissioning programme and enable the longterm management of liquid waste after it has been
conditioned in cement. A small proportion of this
cemented waste will be returned to foreign
customers under the terms of historical reprocessing
contracts.
This project has had an exemplary safety record
since commencing, currently 1090 working days
without a lost time accident. UKAEA and all
contractors working on the project are to be
congratulated on this tremendous record.
John Swanson, Senior Project Manager praised
the efforts of the UKAEA staff and contractor team.
“Their drive and experience has enabled the project
to exceed the performance targets set for delivery of
the facility construction phase,” he said.
Balfour Beatty was awarded the contract in excess
of £10 million to construct the state-of-the-art plant,
which commenced at the end of 2004.
Internal view of the new waste handling facility
JET programme restarts
Continued from page 1
“Significant results have already been
produced, including explorations of the
capabilities of the ITER-like configuration and
mitigation of plasma instabilities. In addition four
pulses have been achieved with heating powers
in excess of 30MW.
“This is the result of a magnificent team effort,
and I would like to congratulate all those who
Benevolent
Fund AGM
The UBA Benevolent Fund will be holding
its Annual General Meeting on Monday 11
December 2006, at BNFL’s London Office,
65 Buckingham Gate, from 12.45.
Contributors to the Fund are welcome to
attend. Please contact Marie Sims, the Fund
Secretary, if you wish to attend.
Marie Sims, UBA Benevolent Fund,
c/o British Nuclear Fuels plc, H420, Risley,
Warrington, WA3 6AS.
Telephone: 01925 833288
made this outstanding achievement possible.”
The first experimental campaign continued
until 13 October. During the week after, minor
maintenance services were performed and some
rarely used JET systems were commissioned, in
anticipation of an experimental programme in
January.
This experimental programme will make use of
JET’s unique ability to vary the toroidal magnetic
field – otherwise known as varying the ripple.
This ‘TF ripple’ programme is important because
it will allow experiments to be performed that
more closely approximate ITER.
The second JET campaign, planned to start on
23 October, will finish on 15 December. JET
experimental campaigns will then carry on from
early January until the end of March 2007. This
will be followed by a shutdown period of about
six months to install several new systems.
Christmas
card
competition
There is just time for your
children to enter the
UKAEA Christmas card
competition. Winning
designs will be used on the
company’s electronic
cards. Every entrant gets a
prize and winners will also
receive gift vouchers.
Entrants must be under
16 and related to a UKAEA
employee. Pictures can be
painted or drawn and
should have a Christmas
theme. All entries must be
on A4 paper.
Please include your
child’s name and age, and
contact details of their
UKAEA relative. Send your
children’s pictures to:
UKAEA Kids Christmas
Card Competition,
Communications, B521,
Harwell, Didcot, Oxon
OX11 ORA. Closing date is
24 November 2005.
Police
chief
retires
The Chief Constable of the
Civil Nuclear Constabulary
has announced his
retirement.
Bill Pryke has served over
30 years in policing. He was
with Wiltshire Constabulary
for 24 years, rising to the
rank of Chief
Superintendent, worked for
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate
of Constabulary and was
appointed Assistant Chief
Officer for the States of
Jersey Police. He joined the
United Kingdom Atomic
Energy Authority
Constabulary (UKAEAC) in
1996 as Assistant Chief
Constable and was
promoted to Chief
Constable two years later.
He led the organisation
through legislative reviews
and, in accordance with the
Energy Act 2004, to
standalone status in April
2005, when the service was
renamed the Civil Nuclear
Constabulary.
At the announcement of
his retirement Bill Pryke
said, “I have enjoyed my
entire policing career
enormously. It has been a
varied career and has
offered some tremendous
opportunities. I have
worked with some great
people and am proud to
have been a member of the
policing family. This is the
right time to hand over
stewardship of the CNC. It
has been a real privilege to
work with CNC officers and
staff.”
4
UKAEATODAY November 2006
Dounreay
Awards ceremony North Highlands College SEA scheme
Apprentices celebrate success
Dounreay apprentices and trainees were
handed their certificates at a special
presentation ceremony at the Pentland
Hotel, Thurso, in September. All 16 final
year apprentices and trainees from
UKAEA, JCL and NUKEM qualified.
Guest speaker John Farquhar,
Director of the NDA’s Region 4,
congratulated them on their efforts.
“This presentation formally marks the
end of a period of hard work,” he told
them. “The skills you have learned are
very important to the NDA because they
underpin the civil nuclear decommissioning programme at Dounreay and
elsewhere in Britain. I wish you every
success in whatever you do.”
Dounreay’s apprentice prize giving, (l to r) back row: John Oliphant (JCL), Gordon Harrold (JCL),
Stuart Duffy, James Macdonald, Jamie Sinclair, Colin Munro (JCL), Darren Mackay, Michael
Smith, Andrew Richardson, Colin Davison (RWE Nukem) front row: Hayley Davidson, Lindsay
Banks, Robert Macleod, Jim Swan, Susan Henderson, Lynne McWilliam, Gail Steven
Tribute paid
to pioneers
UKAEA’s acting Chief
Operating Officer
Norman Harrison
recently paid tribute
to generations of
students in the
Highlands who went
on to play a key role
in providing the
technology that now
supplies Britain with
more than a fifth of its
electricity.
Speaking at the
annual prize-giving at
North Highlands
Norman Harrison
College in Wick, part
of the University of the Highlands and Islands
Millennium Institute, Norman said that their
contribution to the “dome of discovery” at
Dounreay in the 1960s and 70s led to safer
systems of generating electricity, that millions
around the world now take for granted.
“It is important we remember the outstanding
contribution that scientists and engineers, many
of them products of this institute, made to the
development of safer and more reliable electricity
produced from nuclear energy,” he said. “Their
place in history for that achievement is worthy
and assured.”
He went on, “We should recognise that where
there were successes – and outstanding
successes at that – there were also some
failures. Those shortcomings live with us today in
the legacies of radioactive particles and historic
practices of waste management, legacies that
must be – and are being – dealt with so that we
can complete the mission and return Dounreay
to something approaching its original condition.
“I am immensely proud of the way my staff
today – many of whom were not even born when
these legacies were being made – are working to
identify, reduce and eliminate them.”
Fundraising
Peter Kent, Dounreay’s Site Services
Unit Manager, outlined the fundraising
and charity activities the apprentices had
participated in during their training,
raising more than £5,000, adding that
the site admin services trainees had
raised more than £2,800 during their
year of training.
This year saw the first decommissioning apprentices to be trained at
Dounreay receive their certificates.
“Three and a half years ago, UKAEA
looked to employ apprentices who
would achieve the qualifications
required to safely decommission
Dounreay,” said Peter. “The apprentices
who will receive their apprenticeship
certificates tonight are the first to be
employed on this programme, and
among the first in the UK to complete
the training.”
Ben Taylor, on behalf of the apprentices and trainees, thanked the trainers
and assessors for their help and support.
He also made a presentation to Maurice
Edmunds, former Head of Site Services
at Dounreay, thanking him for his
support for the apprentice scheme over
the years.
Ambassadors for science
Engineers working at Dounreay have enrolled in the
Science and Engineering Ambassadors (SEA) scheme,
as part of the Science, Engineering, Technology and
Mathematics network (SETNET).
SETNET, a UK-wide charity, promotes science,
technology, engineering and mathematics in schools to
ensure that there are sufficient school leavers entering
these fields. This new scheme will formalise the already
considerable support given by UKAEA and its contractors to the community’s youth.
Ambassadors are people with science, technology,
engineering and maths skills who use these skills in
their day jobs. They help schools on a voluntary basis in
many diverse ways: giving talks, running after-school
clubs, giving careers advice, providing mentoring
support and assisting with local events such as science
fairs. Their enthusiasm can motivate pupils to stay on in
education after the age of 16 and choose an engineering
or scientific career.
The Ambassadors at Dounreay will be co-ordinated
by SETPOINT Scotland North. Pat Kieran, a UKAEA
engineer who has been involved with the Caithness
Science Festival for a number of years, is encouraged
by the number of people at Dounreay willing to
give their time and energy to help Caithness schoolchildren.
“We are enrolling 12 people, from UKAEA,
NUKEM Ltd and KP Technology, into the SEA
scheme” he said. “Although many of them are already
involved with schools, the SEA scheme will help us to
keep track of what everyone is doing, so that we don’t
duplicate effort, and ensure that as many children
as possible can benefit from our knowledge and
experience.”
But it is not only the children who benefit.
Ambassadors develop their own communication skills,
have the satisfaction of knowing that they are encouraging the next generation to get involved, and generally
find the whole experience very rewarding.
Councillor Roger Saxon welcomed Dounreay’s
involvement. “The world of work is confusing enough
for school students,” he said. “The opportunity to learn
and hopefully be inspired by someone who works in an
engineering, technology, science or maths related job is
invaluable. I know those who volunteer to talk to
schools also get a lot from the experience.”
November 2006 UKAEATODAY
Dounreay
5
Chain challenge Former staff visit Laundry factfile
Challenge of
keyhole repair
Operators at Dounreay have completed a challenging repair in the disassembly cave of the fast
reactor fuel reprocessing plant.
The facility processed spent fuel rods from the
Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) until 1996.
Irradiated fuel was received from PFR and
reprocessed in a series of heavily shielded caves.
The largest of these was the disassembly cave. As
part of the ongoing post operative clean-out,
redundant equipment in the disassembly cave is
James Sutherland delivers the
laundry to Margaret Munro at the
inactive laundry
UKAEA recently invited six of Dounreay’s retired workers back
to site to see the decommissioning work taking place there.
The group were informed about the shaft isolation project
and saw for themselves the changes that have taken place at the
shaft, including the addition of the raised working platform.
They also had a tour of the Dounreay Fast Reactor to hear
how it is being decommissioned. On leaving site Frank
Sinclair, said, “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to site. The tour
of the shaft and DFR was excellent and very informative.
“From what I remember of the site it has all altered. Several
new buildings have gone up and there are also many buildings
I remember that have now been demolished. There have been
big changes.” While Sinclair Calder added, “It was nice to see
some familiar faces again.”
being cut up using remotely operated tools.
The cave hoist, an integral part of this work,
became inoperable due to excessive wear on a
chain drive bearing. Before the clean-out could
continue, the hoist had to be repaired. Man entry
was not possible because of the high radiation
levels inside the cave, so the repair was carried out
using extended reach tools by personnel wearing
airline suits.
Engineers Graham Sutherland and Ramsey
Gunn designed the equipment and developed the
technique used to make the repair. They also
carried out the replacement work, supported by
the facility’s team of workers.
The operators built a containment tent over the
shield plug in the cave roof. Once the plug, four
feet long and one foot across, was removed, the
operators could get to work on the replacement of
the worn parts. They lowered the new pieces
through the plug hole using purpose-built
‘trunnion bars’. The challenge was to attach the
new sprocket, while holding the chain, and then
put the chain back onto the sprocket.
UKAEA’s Facility Project Manager George
Sinclair, who oversaw the work, compared the job
to replacing the chain on a bicycle while standing
about six foot away and using long reach tools.
“Due to the high levels of radiation in the cave,
the operators were restricted in the time they could
lean over the hole, so they had to stand away from
the plug hole while they worked,” he said. “They
are to be congratulated on completing a difficult
job to budget, within radiation dose limits and
within a short timescale.”
Laundries are key
part of clean-up
It happens by magic. You throw your dirty
coverall in the bin and, when you need it,
a clean one is waiting for you.
Like so many service industries, the
Dounreay laundries are often taken for
granted. Yet without them, decommissioning work could not proceed.
Laundry staff do more than just wash and
Former staff see
big changes
Did you know?
• If the Dounreay laundries were to shut down, decommissioning work at
Dounreay would grind to a halt within just three days.
• In a typical month, the inactive laundry processes an average of 4,300kg of
clothing, and the active laundry processes an average of 2,300 items.
dry coveralls. They also repair and maintain
Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE)
and are working with the manufacturers of
a new airline suit to make design changes.
Whatever their role, the team who work in
the Dounreay laundries can be certain of one
thing, they will be needed until the Dounreay
site restoration programme is complete.
Kirsteen “Teenie” Shearer loads the
washing machine in the inactive
laundry
Former members of staff Gordon Bailey, Frank Sinclair, Sinclair Calder,
Ernie Lillyman, Jonathon Kirk and Rolland Shallcross at the shaft’s raised
working platform with George Groat, Project Manager (l) and Colin
Munro, Geologist
• Having the laundries as an in-house service will save Dounreay £3million over
the next 20 years.
• The two washing machines in the active laundry are twins to the ones used on
board the QE2.
• Respirators go through a ‘hygiene’ wash in an industrial dishwasher.
• In the RPE workshop, respirators are checked for an airtight fit using a metal
head known as ‘Norman’.
Chris Halle and Fiona MacLeod
monitor and clean respirators in the
active laundry
The RPE Workshop is always busy
John Cuthbert fits a respirator in
the RPE Workshop
6
UKAEATODAY November 2006
Windscale
Chief Executive visits Technology Advisory Group meeting
County
Council visit
Peter Stybelski, Chief
Executive of Cumbria County
Council, recently visited
Windscale.
Mr Stybelski was very keen
to learn about the
decommissioning progress of
the Windscale team and their
plans for accelerating the
decommissioning programme.
He commented that he found
the visits to WAGR and the Pile
1 facilities extremely useful in
demonstrating the work which
had been done to date and the
importance of the work still to
be carried out.
One of the areas which
particularly impressed him was
the Intermediate Level Waste
Store which demonstrates
UKAEA’s commitment to
managing waste in a safe,
secure and environmentallyfriendly manner.
Peter Stybelski and Steve Balmforth
of Cumbria County Council on the
Pile Cap
TAG comes to the UK
Windscale hosted the October meeting of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
International members from Japan, Canada and
numerous European countries including Sweden,
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain were
welcomed to the UK. The meeting focused on
shared experiences on dismantling and decommissioning practices.
Terry Benest, Senior Project Manager for the
Windscale Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (WAGR)
project, one of the group’s member projects, said,
“The TAG group meets regularly to discuss
progress and experience on worldwide decommissioning projects. Every member project gives a
‘warts and all’ presentation, so we learn from each
other’s mistakes as well as our successes.
“Projects are at many different stages so we hear
about experiences in all aspects of decommissioning, including definition, regulatory approval,
planning, methods, waste treatment, waste clearance, demolition and delicensing, as well as
regulatory and management conditions.
“It is an important forum for information
exchange in which UKAEA is held in high regard.”
The week was split into two phases – Cumbria
and the Harwell/Culham sites.
The first part of the meeting was held at Higham
Hall in Cumbria. The team visited local Cumbrian
attractions whilst staying in Cockermouth. At a
dinner, meeting members were able to get together
with Cumbrian stakeholders in the setting of
Muncaster Castle. Representatives from the NDA,
the local council and the Site Stakeholder Group
also attended the dinner.
The group visited the Windscale site and, after
presentations from the Head of Site Peter Mann,
Communications Manager Fee Wilson, Steve
Haslam and Peter Law from the WAGR Project and
Tony Milburn from the Piles Project, they were
given the opportunity to see the progress which has
been made on the WAGR decommissioning
project. The group also visited the Pile 1 reactor.
The second phase of the meeting was held at two
of UKAEA’s Southern Sites. A visit to Harwell
enabled the TAG group to see how a nuclear
licensed site is being restored to allow development
into a science park. They also saw the DIDO
reactor and cave lines in the Post Irradiation
Examination (PIE) facility
Later the TAG group visited the Culham site and
had a tour of the JET facility to see something of
the groundbreaking research being carried out in
the UK on fusion research.
The TAG group outside the WAGR facility
Great day
for golf
The 15th annual Windscale golf tournament
was held at Seascale Golf Club on the 16
September 2006.
The event began in 1991 and over the
years groups such as Johnson Controls and
the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) have
been added to the teams invited to play. This
year’s event was organised by Tony Bishop
and his team in the Programme Office and
was one of the strongest line-ups yet, with
over 50 golfers participating in 13 teams.
The winning team came from the CNC. One
of their team members, Dave Jackson, took
the best individual prize, while Denley
Kirkham took the best retired prize to add to
his collection. One of the UKAEA teams
managed a credible second place, just
managing to hold off NUKEM.
“My thanks to those who helped organise
the event and for the support and donations
of UKAEA, NUKEM and Johnson Controls “,
said Tony Bishop.
Safety
Makin
secon
November 2006 UKAEATODAY
7
Milestones
ng safe behaviour
nd nature
“We were extremely
impressed by the
evident commitment
demonstrated by all
those involved and by
the quality of the
programme itself.”
A safety programme, piloted at
Dounreay, is now being rolled
out across the UKAEA and
contracting workforce at the
site, starting with the
Decommissioning Unit.
The Second Nature
behavioural change programme
began in February 2006 with a
few pilot sessions trialled by
UKAEA and contractor safety
reps and supervisors. This was
followed by an extended pilot
with all the staff from the
Dounreay Cementation Plant,
who helped refine the
programme. The extended
leadership team and some
management representatives
from main contracting
companies attended two-day
workshops.
Roy Blackburn and Jayne
Tye of the NDA commented,
“We were both extremely
impressed by the evident
commitment demonstrated by
all those involved and by the
quality of the programme
itself.”
At the pilot sessions
participants were asked to
propose a name for the
programme and Second Nature
was chosen. Elaine Cameron,
the project team leader said,
“The essence of the
programme is that, by making
safe behaviours second nature,
Well done to all those staff
celebrating career
milestones this month.
40 years and over
John Harris • Dounreay
08/11/66
35 years and over
George Crawford • Culham 12/11/68
Norman Davies • Culham
01/11/70
30 years and over
we start to prevent near
misses, which should in turn
further reduce incidents. This is
a change in approach, focusing
on the reasons why people
behave the way they do and
implementing a simple but
effective process to support
them to change those
behaviours.”
Part of the training courses
is called Second Nature
Observation in the Workplace
(SNOW). This is an opportunity
for people to put theory into
practice. The focus is on
changing people, especially the
way that they respond to being
Putting theory into practice
At the Dounreay Cementation Plant the team has been
observing and monitoring behaviours such as wearing
coveralls correctly and holding toolbox talks, while in D2670,
the team has decided to monitor the wearing of dosimetry
and personal monitoring. Individual teams take the
responsibility for implementing what they learn in the training
in a way that best fits them.
Staff in D2670 felt the training to be “effective and
worthwhile”, and welcomed the opportunity to learn how to
approach someone who is compromising their own safety.
Staff at the Pulsed Column Laboratory adopt an open
policy with operators speaking their minds. Project Supervisor
Alan Shearer says the operators’ opinions and suggestions
are encouraged and they are actively involved in making
improvements to their work area and practices.
According to D1208 plant engineer Iain Cuthbertson, the
Second Nature programme, “Re-enforces what acceptable
behaviour is.” He believes the initiative is a step forward. “It is
different from other ones introduced on site and people are
more likely to put into practice what they have learned,” he
said.
approached or being given
feedback, rather than on
discipline and reporting.
The practical training aims to
give people the confidence to
challenge unsafe behaviours in
a constructive manner. It also
helps them appreciate that,
though approaching someone
and having a conversation may
feel intimidating and
uncomfortable, it is worthwhile
if it ensures that we can all go
home unharmed.
This is reflected in a poem
presented by Balfour Beattie at
Dounreay last year:
I could have saved a life
that day
but I chose to look the
other way.
I shook my head and walked
on by,
he knew the risks as well as I.
He took the chance, I closed
my eyes
and with that act I let him die.
If you see a risk that others
take
that puts their health or life
at stake
The question asked, or thing
you say
could help them live
another day.
The Second Nature team
expects to have completed the
initial training programme at
Dounreay by summer 2007.
If you would like any further
information please contact
Elaine Cameron on 01847
806826.
George Johnson • Dounreay 06/11/72
Alsie MacGregor • Dounreay 04/11/74
Alan Dalziel • Culham
04/11/74
Alexander Mackay • Dounreay 18/11/74
25 years
James Anthoney • Dounreay 09/11/81
20 years
Ian Mortimer • Winfrith
Leslie Grant • Dounreay
03/11/86
17/11/86
15 years
Paula Third • Harwell
01/11/91
Mandy Coan • Winfrith
04/11/91
Sandra Owsnett • Dounreay 05/11/91
10 years
Peter Edney • Culham
02/11/96
Kim Gee • Winfrith
04/11/96
John Anderson • Warrington 13/11/96
Please note that Milestones are
calculated on years of continuous
service.
UBA
BENEVOLENT FUND
The UBA Benevolent Fund (formerly the
UKAEA Benevolent Fund) provides financial
assistance and advice to current and past
employees of the UKAEA, AEA Technology,
BNFL and G E Healthcare (formerly Amersham
plc), and their families, in times of financial
hardship. All employees are eligible and those
who left either as non-industrial employees or
after the introduction of single status.
■ I would like to apply for help
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Tel: 01925 833288/836047
8
UKAEATODAY November 2006
Harwell
Innovation rewarded UKSPA Cluster Day 60th anniversary
National award for
innovative project
Two Harwell projects were nominated for the recent
Brownfield Briefing Innovation Awards, one of them
picking up a runner-up prize. The awards were set up to
recognise best practice in remediation throughout the UK.
All entries were assessed by an independent panel of judges.
Both nationally nominated UKAEA projects were part of
the Western Storage Area clean-up programme: the replacement groundwater containment plant and the soil
vapour extraction project.
The soil vapour extraction
project was named runner up
in the ‘most innovative
remediation method’
category.
In this first application of
conductive thermally
enhanced soil vapour extraction (SVE) in the UK, AIG
Engineering Group, carried
out a field-scale evaluation
for UKAEA, demonstrating
that heating contaminated
land significantly boosts
removal of volatile organic
compounds (VOC),
compared to conventional
SVE.
The SVE project was
praised as a “significant
technical advance” that can
be used in a wide variety of
situations.
Ducks and rockets
break the ice
Duck herding, falconry and rocket building were among the
unusual activities at a recent team day, held at Milton Hill Training
Centre near Harwell.
Staff from the Harwell and Winfrith Programme Offices took
part in the event at the end of September. The aim was to encourage communication and develop the working relationships between
the two groups, in preparation for when they are combined into a
single unit next year.
Feedback was extremely positive, with Rob Godden, Winfrith’s
Lead Estimator, saying, “An excellent day. I tried many things I’ve
never done before. A great ice breaker and I will look forward to
getting to know more of the Harwell team better in the future.”
Darren Bailey of Corporate Finance added, “For the Corporate
staff it was a great opportunity to meet the people who they will be
working closely with next year. The Emerald team were the only
ones to design a rocket to go round corners – no-one else managed
that particular feat of aeronautical engineering. It was a day we will
all be talking about for some time yet.”
UKAEA plays its part
Steven Moss, Head of UKAEA’s Central
Property Unit, was re-elected to the Board of the
UK Science Parks Association (UKSPA) at its
Annual General Meeting on 21 September 2006
at the Liverpool Science Park.
UKAEA has had a long association with UKSPA.
Harwell and Culham have been member science
parks for many years – as well as Winfrith
Technology Centre when it was under UKAEA
ownership – reflecting UKAEA’s development strategy for the sites as centres for science and innovation.
New UKSPA Board Members (l to r): Steven Moss (Harwell Science and Innovation Campus), Jane Davies
(Manchester Science Park), Vice Chair Nigel Shaw (Malvern Hills Science Park), Chair Tim Bacon (Loughborough
Science Park), Paul Carver (South Bank Technopark), Treasurer/Secretary Julia Macfarlane (Sunderland Science
Park). Other Board Members not shown: Malcolm Parry (Surrey Research Park), Paul Wright, Chief Executive
Always in the news
2006 is the year we celebrate
60 years since the Atomic
Energy Research
Establishment (AERE) first
came into existence at
Harwell. Throughout its
history, Harwell has been
making the headlines with its
groundbreaking work.
Radio and TV
As part of the celebrations, the remarkable
story of UKAEA Harwell featured in three days
of radio and television coverage in September
on Radio Oxford and BBC South Today. Radio
Oxford broadcast live interviews with UKAEA
Chairman Barbara Thomas Judge and Steven
Moss, Head of Central Property Unit, on Radio
Oxford. Harwell also featured on the BBC
website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles
/2006/09/12/raf_harwell.shtml
Secrets revealed
Harwell’s Darren Bailey with Chris Webb and Steve Oakley of Winfrith,
members of the Emerald team, building their rocket
At the same meeting, Daresbury Science and
Innovation Campus was approved as one of the
new members of UKSPA.
The development of the Harwell and Daresbury
Science and Innovation Campuses as two key
national sites was announced as part of the
Government’s 2006 Budget.
UKSPA now represents over 70 science parks
in the UK. David Kirby, also from UKAEA’s
Central Property Unit, has stepped down as Chair
of UKSPA.
In Harwell’s 60th anniversary year, a book
revealing the history of its secret research to
harness the power of the atom has been
published.
Harwell: The Enigma Revealed is written by
Nick Hance MBE, who retired from UKAEA
after a lifetime career spanning six decades. It
tells the story of Britain’s secret nuclear
programme and why Harwell turned to
industrial science. As well as splitting the atom,
Harwell’s scientists worked to harness the
fusion power of the Sun.
The book explains how they built ‘fast’
reactors and recounts the undercover activities
of the traitor, Klaus Fuchs. It also details how
Harwell scientists solved the mystery of the
Kings Cross fire, dated the Turin Shroud and
kept Big Ben on time. As Nick said, “Whatever
Harwell did was newsworthy.”
Nick will be holding book signings over the
coming weeks. The first is on 6 December at
12 noon in the foyer of Harwell library.
November 2006 UKAEATODAY
Winfrith
9
SGHWR Dragon B2 decommissioning
New roof
for SGHWR
Work continues at Winfrith’s SGHWR as
the final piece of the jigsaw is lowered
into place, creating a new roof for the
primary containment.
Six concrete beams cover the 7 metre
diameter hole left after the removal of the
rotating shields. This reseals the
containment from the rest of the facility
until work begins to remove the reactor
core.
Safely removed
after four
decades
UKAEA Project Manager Steve Allenby (front l) and Ian Cornick of NUKEM,
holding the dummy neutron source surrounded by the rest of the team
After more than 42 years, the neutron source in Winfrith’s Dragon
reactor has been successfully removed. The Dragon neutron source
was placed in the reactor in July 1964 where it remained until
September 2006.
The Dragon reactor was shut down in 1975. Preparatory work to
remove the neutron source first started in 1995 under a scheme
proposed by Steve Dunning, then of AEAT. Ten years later, in 2005,
the scheme was resurrected by UKAEA and developed further,
again with Steve Dunning, now of NUKEM Limited, taking a key
role. Refining the scheme, manufacturing special items and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals took the team a further 18
months.
“The actual removal process proved to be a straightforward part
of the project – testimony to the high standard of engineering within
the Dragon reactor. The removal team practised using a mock-up
structure and everything went to plan on the day,” said UKAEA
Project Manager Steve Allenby.
“It is often said that a project is a team effort but this one
certainly was, requiring a good working relationship between
UKAEA, James Fisher and NUKEM personnel, all with a common
goal. Thanks and well done to all involved.”
Changing face of Winfrith
Another significant change
to the Winfrith skyline
occurs as the decommissioning and demolition of B20,
B22 and B23 are completed.
Building B20, one of the
tallest buildings at Winfrith,
housed the low power
reactors, NESTOR and
DIMPLE, two of the world’s
longest running and most
successful research facilities.
The 30kW NESTOR
reactor provided a source of
neutrons for application
services, research and training. It went critical in March
1961. During the 1970s and
early 80s NESTOR led the
world providing benchmark
experimental data for
validating radiation shielding
calculation methods and
data.
DIMPLE was a zero
power reactor used to investigate performance and
safety issues across the
whole fuel cycle. Built in
July 1954 at Harwell it was
transferred to Winfrith in
1961 where it was refurbished. During the 1980s it
embarked on a major series
of criticality safety studies.
Building B23, a substantially reinforced concrete
Category 2 facility, was used
to store fissile materials until
2005, when they were transferred off site. More recently
the remaining 65 tonnes of
natural and depleted uranium
were removed and repackaged to the satisfaction of
the Euratom inspection team.
Decommissioning work
was managed by UKAEA
using direct labour provided
by NUKEM Ltd, with
separate contract arrangements
for Health Physics support
(NUKEM Ltd) and other small
support contracts for specialist
tasks. After removal of all
radiological hazards, a separate
contract for the demolition was
awarded to Euro Dismantling
Services Ltd.
Summing up, UKAEA
Project Manager Paul
Milverton said, “The project to
remove these facilities represented a number of technical
and contractual challenges. The
contract strategy chosen was to
maximise the amount of work
that could be performed using
heavy machinery provided by
the demolition contractor. This
proved to be effective in significantly reducing the overall
cost.
“Management of the contractor interfaces and waste
disposal issues represented
some of the main challenges to
the project. Significant savings
were achieved by developing a
waste sentencing strategy that
enabled the main steel
members of the building to
be proven as exempt material
with the blessing of the
Environment Agency, reducing waste sentencing costs
and maximising the quantity
of material available for
recycling.
“The success of this project
can be attributed to the
commitment of the UKAEA
staff managing the works
combined with a robust and
effective contract strategy.”
Winfrith Site Manager
Alan Neal added, “The B2
decommissioning and
demolition project was
completed ahead of time and
at reduced cost, the result of
an excellent working partnership between UKAEA and its
contractors.
“The decommissioning
marks a further milestone in
our accelerated plans to fully
decommission the Winfrith
site by 2015 and become the
first major nuclear site to be
removed from nuclear
regulation.”
10
Culham
UKAEATODAY November 2006
Discovery Channel Spaceplanes Culham retirement
Spaceplane exhibition
Wall to wall
filming
The TV production company Wall to Wall has
been filming at JET for a four-part documentary called “Surviving the Future” to be
broadcast on the Discovery Channel.
The series examines how mankind uses
innovative techniques to harness nature in
four programmes called Water, Energy,
Shelter and Safety. The JET footage will be
included in the Energy programme, which
also focuses on the need to extract fossil fuels
from increasingly demanding locations and a
range of new technologies being used worldwide to harness energy.
Using several techniques and specialised
camera equipment, Wall to Wall filmed both
the interior and exterior of the Torus Hall
from various heights and angles using the
latest High Definition technology for
widescreen television. They also filmed in
the JET control room when experiments were
taking place, interviewing scientists Yasmin
Andrew and Huw Leggate about fusion
energy and the future aspirations for this
source.
“Surviving the Future” will be broadcast to
a global audience in 2007.
Reaction Engines, one of the tenants of the Culham
Innovation Centre, held a successful week-long exhibition
of its current projects in the foyer of Culham Science
Centre during September.
Based at Culham for the past five years, Reaction
Engines conducts research into rocket engines for application in ‘single stage to orbit’ spaceplanes.
The main feature of the exhibition was the company’s
Skylon space plane, which was also displayed at the
Farnborough Air Show. Skylon has been designed as a
cheaper, reusable way of launching satellites into space. A
lecture on Skylon will be held at Culham in January next
year.
Managing Director Alan Bond said, “We have always
had a great deal of interest in our work from the people at
Culham and setting up the Farnborough exhibition here
was an ideal way of informing them where we have got to.
It was a very enjoyable success.”
‘Founder member’
of fusion retires
One of the first scientists to start work at
Culham, Ken Axon, has retired after nearly
47 years of service. Colleagues gathered on
8 September to offer him their best wishes
on a memorable occasion.
Ken joined UKAEA in January 1960,
transferring to its new laboratory at Culham
within the year. This makes him one of
Culham’s ‘founder members’ and one of
the longest-serving fusion researchers
there. He was also one of the first to
complete a UKAEA sponsored degree.
Remarkable career
Ken went on to work on almost every
fusion experiment at Culham, from the
early TARANTULA linear and CLASP
stellarator devices to the latest spherical
tokamaks, START and MAST.
His remarkable career was recalled by
Department Head William Morris and
Group Leader Geoff Maddison, who
described him as “capable of providing
whatever is needed, such as a theoretician’s
request for a square circle.”
Ken was presented with a number of
farewell gifts, including a director’s chair
and a photograph of the assembled MAST
team. He was warmly wished a retirement
as long and fulfilling as his time at Culham
by his many friends.
11
November 2006 UKAEATODAY
Website of the Month
£25 Prize Crossword
Keep safe at work, at
home and on the roads
A strong safety theme runs through this edition
of UKAEA Today. So we thought we’d take a
look at what the Internet offers on this
important subject.
The Health and Safety Executive website is
very wide-ranging. One section that catches
the eye is called Revitalising Health and Safety.
It’s a ten-year strategy to improve health and
safety at work. On the Advice, Tools and
Evidence pages there are practical tips to help
businesses, including case studies that give
examples of the business benefits of health
and safety.
www.hse.gov.uk
When they think of safety, most people think of
RoSPA, the accident prevention organisation.
RoSPA’s comprehensive website covers road,
home, occupational, play and product safety.
The home safety pages contain the horrifying
statistic that every year almost 4,000 people
die in accidents at home and an astonishing
2.7 million are injured badly enough to seek
treatment.
www.rospa.co.uk
The housing charity Shelter’s website has a
section on home safety. It covers fire, gas and
electricity safety, and includes advice on
preventing accidents and what to do in an
emergency. It also looks at crime prevention
and how to keep your home secure.
www.shelter.org.uk
With its uncompromising name, Fire Kills, gives
advice on fire safety, including a thoughtprovoking section for parents and child carers.
It also reminds us that we should check the
battery in our fire detectors every week. The
kids’ area of the site brings home the message
with games and quizzes for children.
www.firekills.gov.uk
For more fun and games with a serious
purpose, visit Hog Street. This Department for
Transport website uses hedgehogs to teach
children to keep safe on the road. Their own
personally named hedgehog leads them
through games and quizzes that teach safety
on foot, on wheels and on the road.
www.hedgehogs.gov.uk
www.britishsafetycouncil.org
www.electricalsafetycouncil.org.uk
www.safetygroupsuk.org
www.backcare.org.uk
www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/default.htm
Youngsters are well seated
Winfrith recently stepped in to replace some ageing chairs for
the Kids of Wool Building Trust in Dorset. The building is in
constant use by various children’s groups in the vicinity of
Wool, including girl guides, scouts and a playgroup.
Guide leader Sue Dorman said, “We are really pleased with
the new chairs. The old ones were more than 20 years old and
became a bit of a hazard. The new chairs stack neatly, leaving
us with a lot more room in the hall to concentrate on our activities. We would like to say a huge thank you to UKAEA
Winfrith.”
Editor : Sue Clark
e-mail: [email protected]
Articles can be freely reproduced provided
UKAEA TODAY is acknowledged as the source
Editorial Office
Communications,
UKAEA, Marshall Building (521)
Harwell, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RA
Tel : 01235 436906 Fax : 01235 436899
Design : Hot Cross Design (01491 839505)
Copywriting : Blue2 (01235 862587)
2
3
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7
9
11
10
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13
14
15
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17
18
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The THINK! road safety website gives news of
the latest Government campaigns and road
safety advice to keep everyone safer on the UK
roads. You can download leaflets, factsheets
and posters for more information and there are
links to other useful sites. In particular, there is
timely advice on winter driving.
www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk
More safety sites you might like to visit.
Please remember that the Website of the Month feature suggests websites you might like to
access from your home computer. If you are in doubt about which sites you are pemitted to
access in the workplace, please refer to the UKAEA Internet policy.
The monthly newspaper for and about the
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
1
Correspondents
Culham
Dounreay
Harwell
Warrington
Windscale
Susan Hayward : 01235 466363
Sue Thompson : 01847 606085
Angela Vincent : 01235 435234
John Anderson : 01925 287654
Fee Wilson : 01946 772954
Claire Tandy : 01946 772213
Winfrith
John Price : 01305 203316
Emma Burwood : 01305 203107
Business Strategy
Bim Adesanya : 01235 435066
Finance & Commercial Lynn Leniewski : 01235 436892
MPED
Annabel Halfhead : 01235 435281
S&AD
Kirsten Johnson : 01847 806387
Cryptic Clues
Across
1 & 5 Disciplined élite...placed on top (7,5)
8
Article six novice found in smithy (5)
9
Have the guts to make a way inside public houses (7)
10
Reserve organ for assessment (7)
11
See 4
12
Rings are nasty at first (6)
14 & 17 Family member - a skilled worker - brings fruit from
Australia (6,5)
19
Assess summit of hairy arch (7)
22
Familiar 14 meets monarch in China (7)
23
See 4
24
Will Pasha remain surrounded by his women? (5)
25
Decadence of French perfume (7)
Down
1
We have little hearing for wind (5)
2
Transposed in poetry (7)
3
Work up student king with a dance (5)
4,11 & 23 He’s honest our kind, round landlord who pays (6,2,3,5)
5
Honesty jar is rigid (7)
6
Wading bird will greet wildly (5)
7
Mediaeval play is a curiosity (7)
12
Sailors quarrel over thin drink (7)
13
From Alexandria the Ismailia road leads to rationalism (7)
15
Coach makes about turn above old city of the east (7)
16
Screened old penny found under bush (6)
18
Nine turned right on reaching core (5)
20
Those confused beliefs (5)
21
Take a break, I say (5)
Quick Clues
Across
1 & 5 Topping (7,5)
8
Metal work base (5)
9
Intestines (7)
10
Allocate (7)
11
See 4
12
Coliseums (6)
14
Elderly relative (6)
17
One who uses 8 (5)
19
Hair above eye (7)
22
Eastern city (7)
23
See 4
24
Women’s quarters (5)
25
Drop (7)
Down
1
Put together (5)
2
Upside-down (7)
3
Lively dance (5)
4,11 & 23 A free round (6,2,3,5)
5
Openness (7)
6
Bird of the heron family (5)
7
Enigma (7)
Drink flavoured with wormwood (7)
12
13
Godless philosophy (7)
15
Care for (7)
16
Sidestepped (6)
18
Central (5)
20
Moral code (5)
21
Seize (5)
September winner and solution
The lucky winner is Bob Horn who works at Culham.
Copy Deadlines
Issue 85 December 2006
Issue 86 January/February 2007
Issue 87 March 2007
Win £25 with our Big Prize Crossword
Send your completed entry to: Communications, UKAEA
Crossword, B521/G30, Harwell, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RA.
Entries for the November 2006 crossword should arrive no
later than 5th February 2007.
2nd November 2006
8th January 2007
5th February 2007
Across; 7 & 4 Mother Goose, 8 Oberon, 9 Stun, 10 Bassoons, 11 Praline
13 Birth, 15 Steak, 17 Dentist, 20 Caramels, 21 Reap, 22 Scales, 23 Nettle
Down; 1 Potter, 2 Thin, 3 Tribune, 5 Hedonist, 6 Sonnet, 12 Leasable, 14 Retsina
16 Thatch, 18 Stable, 19 Tense, 2 Rats
UKAEATODAY November 2006
12
Out and About
Dressing
down for
charity
Head for
heights
The RMS team at
Harwell of (l to r) Karen East,
Chris Holmes, Gaynor Stephens, Jane Murray,
Sandy Benge, Leanne Boxall and Jane Peters
Denim was the order for the
day at some UKAEA sites on
Friday 6 October, national
Jeans for Genes Day.
The annual charity event
helps ten national charities,
including Great Ormond Street
Children’s Charity, WellChild and
SPARKS, to fund vital genetic
research to alleviate and cure
childhood genetic disorders.
At Windscale, they raised
£308, more than double last
year’s total. At Winfrith, staff
and contractors donated £175
and at Harwell £183. Dounreay
staff raised the magnificent
total of £1050.
The team from
SGHWR at Winfrith
Cricketing champ
Culham’s Rob Harkness took part in a sponsored abseiling event to
raise money for the Oxford Children’s Hospital Campaign
(CHOX). His challenge was to abseil 100 feet down the wall of the
John Radcliffe Women’s Centre. “It was a great experience and we
raised £459 for the campaign,” said Rob.
CHOX has a target of £15 million to raise, of which £12.4
million has been pledged to date. Anyone wishing to find more
details should visit the website www.chox.org.uk
The 15-year old son of a member
of the WAGR team represented the
North of England in the prestigious
Bunbury cricket festival in Brighton.
Though Jamie, son of Alison
Harrison, has only been playing
cricket for four years, he plays at
county level and opens the bowling
for Cleator’s first team in the North
Lancashire League. He recently
received a sport scholarship with
the Sedbergh School in Kendal.
Jamie will be joining his team on
tour in South Africa in the spring.
UKAEA, CH2MHill and AMEC are
sponsoring him.
Close cup final
The recent successful series of football matches
between UKAEA Winfrith and Nexia culminated in
a grand final. After the first two matches, the
scores were level so everything was to play for.
Peter Mann, Head of Site said; “The two
companies work closely in the Leased Operations
Facility and decided, as part of the ongoing teambuilding sessions, to put their football skills to
good use. Nexia and UKAEA were pleased to
sponsor the event.”
The match was organised by Gary Hammell of
Nexia and Alan Ross of UKAEA. Peter Mann and
Keith Johnson, Senior Project Manager for Nexia
Solutions presented the players with medals and
Peter handed the winner’s trophy to Carl
The winning team captain, Carl Myerscough being
Myerscough, the captain of the UKAEA team.
presented with the trophy by Peter Mann
UKAEA won the closely fought final 3 – 2.
Sussex captain Chris
Adams and Jamie
Dorchester
Show
UKAEA Winfrith braved the wind and rain
to exhibit at the County Show on 2 and 3
September.
The Dorchester show is a main focus of
the farming calendar and attracts many
local stakeholders. Communications
Manager Emma Burwood said, “You would
be amazed how many people have worked
at or have some association with the site.
People were very interested to learn about
our accelerated decommissioning plans.
Despite the awful weather it proved a
successful show and a great opportunity to
talk with local stakeholders.”
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