Introduction

As an example of our inherent ability to innovate and add value to existing products to provide cost and operational benefits, below is a summary of our development of a precast lid for the Magnox 6m³ Robust Concrete Box (RCB).

Planning and implementation

As manufacturers of the Magnox 6m³ Reinforced Concrete Box and Shielded Overpack, we have an approved and audited quality management system in place to ensure production of the containers meets the required customer specifications.

The design of the 6m³ RCB precast lid was concluded with minimal changes to the existing 6m³ RCB body thus ensuring rapid acceptance and minimal justification for regulators and other key stakeholders on the journey to active operations in the field.

In addition, we developed a design that has significant cost and operational benefits. Some of these key benefits are:

• Fast deployment for use in field as operations are reversible allowing use with only on-site safety case allowing time to manage disposal and transport cases, reducing hospital costs
• No large spend for on-site batching and lidding facilities – this is very cost effective for sites with small volumes of waste
• Precast lids can be fitted temporarily or permanently providing operational flexibility
• The design has improved retention capability for transport off-site and for disposal
• Ability to add additional ports or arrange for fewer ports in precast lid. This can allow the option of a 6m³ RCB variant for wet wastes
• A precast lid negates the risks associated with the wet lidding plant malfunctioning providing a part lidded container housing radioactive waste
• Allows waste consigners to benefit with reduced disposal costs and the ability to facilitate decay storage
• Enables waste consigners to benefit from being able to re-open a container and optimise packing factors

We believe that the case for a precast lid for future uses of the 6m³ RCB is compelling, especially for sites where only a small number of containers are required to house the wastes.