Algae control at Sellafield

LG Sonic, a leading international manufacturer of algae and biofouling control systems, has installed multiple LG Sonic Industrial Wet Systems at the Sellafield  nuclear power facility in the UK. This led to a significant improvement in the clarity of the water and the visibility into the storage ponds. As a result of these ultrasonic processing systems there has been an exceptional reduction in blue-green algae and chlorophyll levels in the treated storage ponds.

Sellafield, a nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear decommissioning site, handles nearly all the radioactive waste generated by the 15 operational nuclear reactors in the United Kingdom. In 2015, the UK government started a major clean-up of the stored nuclear waste facilities in Sellafield because of the bad condition of storage ponds. One of the main causes of these bad conditions  was poor visibility in the water due to algae growth.

The Solution: Ultrasound technology

To improve water visibility in the storage ponds, four LG Sonic Industrial Wet systems were installed. The systems have 12 ultrasonic programmes to effectively control different types of algae, and are able to treat algae in a relatively short time. GPRS control allows the user to monitor and change the ultrasound programme remotely. Furthermore, status updates and alerts are received when power outages occur.

In only three weeks after the installation of the LG Sonic ultrasonic systems, there was a significant reduction in blue-green algae count and chlorophyll levels. As a result of the this reduction, the water started to clear and it was possible to see vessels and containers in the storage ponds that in recent years were only visible when using a tethered underwater mobile camera device.

Over 10,000 LG Sonic systems have been installed worldwide, including many on the current European FP7 projects.

A recent picture of a storage pond

Concern over EDF reactor faults

HazardEx, the UK journal covering industrial hazards and regulations worldwide, has published an interesting update on the state of the EPR nuclear reactor being built at Flamanville, in Normandy. Potential problems at this site are of as much concern to UK residents in Southern England, as will be the case over the future reactors of the same type planned for Hinkley Point in Somerset.

HazardEx says:

The French state electricity generator Electricité De France (EDF) has put the cost of repairing recently discovered flaws at the new EPR reactor being built at Flamanville in Normandy at Euro400 million ($468 million). This takes the total cost of the project to Euro10.9 billion, more than three times its original budget.

The Flamanville plant – an EDF picture

EDF had previously warned that problems with welds at the reactor under construction in Flamanville were worse than first expected. The utility said on July 25 that out of the 148 inspected welds at the latest generation reactor, 33 had quality deficiencies and would need to be repaired.

The most recent projections envisaged the Flamanville 3 reactor loading nuclear fuel at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, but EDF said this was now scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2019. The reactor was originally scheduled to come on stream in 2012.

Flamanville was the second EPR reactor to be constructed: the first was Olkiluoto in Finland, which has suffered comparable delays and cost overruns, and this is also now due to enter service in 2019.

This means that the first EPR to enter production will probably be at the Taishan nuclear plant in China. Work on Taishan 1 and 2 reactors has also suffered repeated delays, but not on the scale of the French and Finnish plants. At least one of the Chinese reactors is expected to be commissioned this year.

In the UK, there are currently plans to build two of these EPRs at Hinkley Point in Somerset. These reactors could be further delayed if the new problems at Flamanville are not easily resolved. The UK EPRs are already mired in political controversy over the high cost of the project.

ENDS