Thorp reprocessing plant may restart in May 2006

London (Platts)--9Nov2005

Sellafield's Thorp plant could start reprocessing again in May 2006, site
manager British Nuclear Group said today. It said it has "a firm plan" for
restart that takes into account the extensive work required. Some 83,000
liters (about 21,933 gallons) of dissolved liquid spent fuel spilled unheeded
from a broken pipe onto the floor of one of Thorp's shielded cells over at
least eight months before it was discovered in April this year. The spilled
liquid was recovered in June and is in storage tanks prior to being processed.
BNFL's restart plan entails bypassing the ruptured pipework by using a second,
parallel pipework and tank system. "Following completion of the repair work
and processing of the recovered liquor through the chemical separation
process, shearing of fuel is programmed to commence in May 2006," the company
said. It cautioned, however, that the restart plan would be kept under
constant review in case of any additional regulatory requirements.

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