WAGR decommissioning: preparation, removal and disposal of the WAGR heat exchangers

The Windscale advanced gas-cooled reactor (WAGR) operated between 1963 and 1981 and was used as a prototype for experimental research and development related to the advanced gas-cooled reactor programme. Operations ceased in 1981 and the defuelling and dismantling of WAGR became a focus for the development of decommissioning and decontamination techniques. A major operation in the decommissioning of WAGR was the removal of the four heat exchangers (HEs) from their concrete bioshields inside the secondary containment sphere and their subsequent disposal as low-level waste. This paper describes how the removal and disposal of these HEs was planned, organized and implemented. (author)