Windscale nuclear fire final reminder set to go out 02 December 2014

Fifty seven years after the UK's worst nuclear incident, the skyline in West Cumbria is set to change forever as Sellafield tackles the task of bringing down the second and final ventilation chimney of the Windscale Piles.

Taller than the Statue of Liberty at 110 metres and constructed from 5,000 tonnes of concrete, steel and brick, the chimney will be dismantled, monitored to check for any remaining contamination and disposed of safely.

The Windscale Piles were built in the early days of the Cold War to provide plutonium for the production of a nuclear deterrent, after the Second World War.

Sellafield was at the forefront of nuclear pioneering, but plants built then had few of the safety features now deemed essential in nuclear facilities.

So in October 1957, a fire ravaged Pile 1 reactor, reaching 1,300C and threatening much of the north of England with nuclear contamination.

Thankfully, Nobel prize-winning physicist Sir John Cockcroft had insisted that the Windscale Pile chimneys be fitted with high performance filters – and it was these that prevented a major catastrophe, with most of the radioactive contamination being captured.

However, since the filters addition was decided after the chimney barrels had been designed and partially built, they produced the iconic bulges at the top of the structures, known locally as the Cockcroft Follies.

To commemorate the removal of the filter gallery, Sir John Cockcroft's son and grandson went on site, climbed the chimney and helped with the removal of the final part of the 530 tonne 'Folly'.

"It's a huge honour to be here to see this work being carried out," said Christopher Cockroft, now 72, and just eight years old when his father worked on the filter gallery.

"We should remember the exemplary courage and devotion of the Windscale men who fought to control the fire back in 1957. My father would be extremely proud to know that his legacy of safety in the nuclear industry lives on at Sellafield today."

The UK now has one of the most robust safety, security and environmentally sound regimes in the world, and Sellafield, managed by Nuclear Management Partners (NMP), is its guardian on site.

"The team has worked towards the safe delivery of this project for many years, so to be able to share this success with the family of John Cockroft has been a great privilege," comments Sellafield's Chris Wilson, project manager leading the chimney demolition.

"The decommissioning challenges posed by the Windscale Pile reactors and chimneys are unique. It's a complex job in terms of both radiological and conventional safety.

"[there is] no instruction manual to turn to, and many traditional demolition techniques are unavailable to us because Sellafield is a working nuclear site with other plants and stores in close proximity to the chimney."

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Sellafield Ltd

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.