DFR Decommissioning: The Breeder Fuel Removal Project — Retrieval and Processing Facilities

The Dounreay site, in North Scotland, was opened in 1955 and a wide range of nuclear facilities have been built and operated there by UKAEA (The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority) for the development of atomic energy research. The Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) was built between 1955 and 1957, and operated until 1977 for demonstration purposes and for producing electricity. Today, its decommissioning is a key part of the whole Dounreay Site Restoration Plan that integrates the major decommissioning activities such as the fuel treatment and the waste management. The paper presents the contract strategy and provides an overview of the BFR project which consists in the removal of the breeder elements from the reactor and their further treatment. It mainly provides particular details of the Retrieval and Processing Facilities design.