Contaminated land assessment and land quality management are
critical parts of decommissioning, site restoration, de-licensing,
on-going operations and planning for new-build.
Babcock's experience and expertise in this area ranges from
overall strategy development, to investigation planning and
implementation, laboratory testing, data interpretation,
visualisation (using GIS), risk assessment, data/records management
and optioneering for remediation.
Projects have been undertaken in support of delicensing nuclear
facilities, evaluation of contaminated land liabilities, pre- and
post-clean-up monitoring, waste clearance and reassurance
monitoring.
Core services features:
Land Quality Management
- Site-wide land quality strategy development
- Integration with site operations, decommissioning and
restoration
- Data management using IMAGES land quality records management
software
- Contaminated land safety cases
We have developed land quality strategies for sites at Harwell,
Dounreay, Windscale and Winfrith.
Site Characterisation and Investigation
- Desk study and site reconnaissance
- Investigation planning and supervision
- Regulatory negotiations and approvals for site
investigation
- In-house radiological characterisation tool
-
- Large area radiological characterisation (gamma ray
spectrometry) ("LARCh")
- Drain and culvert inspection equipment
- In-situ spectrometric borehole measure
- On-site measurement of borehole cores
- Sampling design for explosives / munitions, radioactivity and
conventional contaminants
- Geotechnical logging of soil and rock
- Groundwater monitoring
- Collection of environmental samples
- Analysis of samples at our dedicated radiological and
environmental laboratory
We have undertaken work at all Magnox sites as well as at
Sellafield and at LLWR (Drigg).
Contamination Interpretation and Assessment
- Interpretation of ground and groundwater conditions,
Geological, hydrological and hydrogeological assessment
- Data visualisation using GIS
- Conceptual site model development
- Radiological risk assessment (using ReCLAIM and RCLEA)
- Conventional human health and environmental contamination risk
assessment
- Article 37 assessments
- Input into Environmental Impact Assessments
- Interpretation in support of delicensing applications and
decommissioning plans
- Interpretative reports
- Regulatory negotiations
Remediation
Remediation option studies (using BPEO and BPM
approaches).Laboratory and pilot scale trials of remediation
technologies notably soil washing, electrokinetic remediation,
phytoremediation and permeable reactive barriers
Key customers:
Magnox (North and South)
Sellafield
Dounreay, Windscale, Harwell and Winfrith
LLWR
EDF
Eastern European Nuclear Power Plants
SOGIN
Case Studies
Data Management for Contaminated Land
Babcock offers a comprehensive range of land quality data
management and GIS services, bringing with it many years'
experience of working on nuclear specific issues.
We use ArcGIS and Vulcan GIS systems - the latter, a package
originally developed for the mining industry, provides more
specialist 3-D visualisations of particular features (e.g. for the
Dounreay Low Level Waste Project, contaminated land models and for
the Dounreay Shaft project).
We have developed a GIS based records management system called
IMAGES (Information Management and Geographical Evaluation System)
which has a series of interacting modules that store and link
together a variety of different types of land quality data,
including:
- Building Histories
- Documents and Photographs
- GIS Files and Metadata
- Intrusive Survey/Characterisation Data
- Land Assessment (Works Carried Out, Risk Assessment and
Management Actions)
- On-site excavation advice and tracking
- Radiation Monitoring (Health Physics) DataWater Quality
GIS and IMAGES have paid a key role in developing the delicensing
case for the Harwell and Winfrith sites, for tracking and
documenting hot particles on the Dounreay site, and is an integral
part of the Dounreay Safety Case for Contaminated Land. The IMAGES
Building Histories database also provides logically collated
information for decommissioning projects
Delicensing
Babcock has been involved in planning investigations to support
site delicensing at Harwell, Winfrth, and Berkeley nuclear licensed
sites, as well as collating information and evaluating data to
support delicensing cases. We have also carried independent peer
review of delicensing cases.
Integrated Characterisation Plan for Decommissioning and Land
Restoration
Babcock has produced several characterisation integrated plans for
decommissioning and land restoration. These reviewing building and
site usage, collating information on the environmental setting of
the site, reviewing decommissioning and restoration schedules, and
development of characterisation plans for components, systems,
buildings, infrastructure and land which integrate with the
decommissioning plans for the site and with the restoration end
points.
Contaminated Land Liabilities assessment
Through detailed desk study, and evaluation of past and current
land usage, infrastructure, incident records, discharges and
monitoring data Babcock, has assessed both potential on-site and
off-site site liabilities.
Remediation Optioneering
Dounreay Zone 4 Improvement Options Study
Babcock provided technical expertise, managed and facilitated an
options study for the management, control and restoration of the
contaminated land in the Zone 4 area at Dounreay. This involved
identifying and assessing options to manage the land contamination
on the short, medium and long term which integrates with the
decommissioning and restoration plan for the site. Babcock
developed the supporting information for technical options and
provided technical experts and facilitators for the workshop. We
also analysed the sensitivity of the outcome and prepared the
report on the assessment process.