Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, has visited Europe’s largest nuclear site to see how robotics and digitalisation is assisting in the decommissioning progress.
It was the first visit to Sellafield by an IAEA Director General since 2001 and was arranged to coincide with Grossi’s attendance to the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
He was joined by David Peattie, CEO of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), and Martin Chown, Sellafield Ltd’s chief executive officer. Grossi said that know-how gathered at Sellafield was beneficial to the IAEA and to the world.
He added: “Through innovative technologies, including robotics and digitalisation, Sellafield is addressing the decommissioning and waste management challenges that are a legacy of the very first days of the nuclear age.
“The NDA is sharing its skills and experiences internationally, including through the IAEA, to help countries ensure that the benefits of low-carbon nuclear energy remain safe, secure and sustainable for decades to come.”
The visitors were shown the decommissioning progress at Sellafield’s Pile Fuel Cladding Silo, one of the site’s oldest facilities and highest priority projects, and toured Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial-scale nuclear power station.
The NDA’s Peattie, added: “This is a great opportunity to show how the UK is meeting its obligation to deal with the legacy of the earliest days of the nuclear industry, in a safe and sustainable manner.
“Sellafield was a pioneer in the very early days of the nuclear industry, now it is a centre of expertise for decommissioning and waste management.”
