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1960s Vacuum Cleaner Rediscovered in Long-Sealed Radioactive Silo at Sellafield, Revealing the Dangers and Advances of One of the UK’s Most Complex Nuclear Operations
An old vacuum cleaner was found inside one of the most dangerous and inaccessible structures at the Sellafield nuclear plant in England. The equipment, dating back to the 1960s, had been stored in a sealed nuclear vault since the 1970s. The discovery surprised local operators, who are now working to empty the facility after decades of radioactive material accumulation.
Radioactive Vacuum Cleaner: Surprise in Decades-Sealed Structure
The object was located in the so-called Fuel Pile Cladding Silo, located in Cumbria. The vault is considered one of the oldest and most complicated nuclear facilities in the world.
Since the 1970s, the silo had remained sealed, accumulating hazardous waste in a poorly documented manner.
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The rediscovery of the vacuum cleaner occurred during a recovery process initiated by the plant teams. The goal is to safely remove the accumulated content from the six compartments of the structure.
So far, 18 boxes of radioactive waste have been removed, according to information from the UK government.
History Buried with the Dust
The found vacuum cleaner is from the brand Electrolux. According to those in charge, it was used to remove radioactive dust in the industrial environment of the plant during the 1950s and 1960s.
At that time, there was no specific system for disposing of contaminated materials, so items like this ended up being sealed in the silo with other waste.
Roddy Miller, operations director of Sellafield Ltd., stated that the case of the vacuum cleaner illustrates the challenge involved in the current task. “It’s a fantastic achievement to reach the point where we are routinely recovering waste from the silo,” he said. According to him, accurate records were not kept at the time.
Modern Technology to Handle the Past
Today, removing the contents of the silo requires modern equipment, remote control systems, and extreme caution. Operators must deal with highly dangerous objects and substances left there by previous generations.
The operation continues, and any item that is contaminated will be properly treated as nuclear waste.
The very modern vacuum cleaner that is being used today to capture dust during the process will also have the same fate. Once its function is complete, it will be permanently stored as radioactive material.
Advances in Plant Cleanup
The ongoing operation marks an important advance in the mission to decommission the Sellafield plant. In addition to the silo where the vacuum cleaner was found, other areas are also being emptied.
Two open tanks and another silo that stored nuclear fuel are also part of the operation.
All these structures were built at a time when future recovery needs were not considered. This makes each part of the work even more complicated and time-consuming.
According to Miller, this moment represents a historic milestone. “For the first time in our history, we are routinely recovering waste from all our four old lakes and silos,” he stated.
Still, the director emphasized that the process is far from over. “But there is still much work to be done, and these four facilities will remain a challenge for many years,” he concluded. The focus now is to safely accelerate recovery and reduce risks from the old structures.
With information from Interesting Engineering.
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