Trawsfynydd Site is hosting public engagement events, as well as an online exhibition, to seek feedback on possible options for decommissioning of the site’s ponds complex.
We are asking for your views on one of biggest projects the site will complete as it prepares to decommission the ponds complex, a collection of 38 buildings constructed more than 50 years ago to process and dispatch spent fuel from the reactors and undertake waste storage and processing operations.
No decisions have yet been taken – as part of preparatory work to decommission the ponds complex, we have engaged in robust conversations with our communities for the past seven years.
We are committed to ensuring our plans are informed by the opinions and views of our stakeholders, and we will continue these conversations with them as we progress sustainable options for decommissioning at Trawsfynydd.
You can take part in our engagement by visiting our online exhibition here.
The original plan for decommissioning the ponds complex was to remove all radioactivity above levels of regulatory limits from the structures for off-site disposal, and then to demolish to ground level and backfill any voids with new material, which would be brought into the site from elsewhere.
After trialling new regulatory guidance developed by the three UK environment agencies, which allows operators like Magnox to consider, with stakeholders, the best option for disposing of lightly contaminated radioactive wastes, leaving some of these structures in place is considered a viable option for the site.
We are seeking your views on this option for decommissioning the complex, which would still leave the below ground structure in-situ but instead back-fill the void with suitable rubble from the demolition of the above ground structure, prior to topping the area with a concrete cap to enable reuse of the land to support further decommissioning of the site.
The original plan for decommissioning the ponds complex was to remove all radioactivity above levels of regulatory limits from the structures for off-site disposal, and then to demolish to ground level and backfill any voids with new material, which would be brought into the site from elsewhere.
After trialling new regulatory guidance developed by the three UK environment agencies, which allows operators like Magnox to consider, with stakeholders, the best option for disposing of lightly contaminated radioactive wastes, leaving some of these structures in place is considered a viable option for the site.
We are seeking your views on this option for decommissioning the complex, which would still leave the below ground structure in-situ but instead back-fill the void with suitable rubble from the demolition of the above ground structure, prior to topping the area with a concrete cap to enable reuse of the land to support further decommissioning of the site.
We believe the benefits of this approach are:
- reduced health and safety risks during decommissioning
- reduced environmental impact from issues such as diminished lorry movements
- reduced worker and public dose during decommissioning
- significant cost savings for the UK taxpayer
Have your say
You can attend one of our in-person drop-in sessions:
- Penrhyndeudraeth Memorial Hall LL48 6LP Wednesday 12 July 15:00 – 20:00
Or you can visit our unstaffed exhibitions at local libraries:
- Porthmadog Library LL49 9HX 10 to 17 July
- Dolgellau Library LL40 2YF 17 to 24 July
- Harlech Library and Institute LL46 2SW 24 to 31 July
- Bala library LL23 7RU 31 July to 7 August
You can find out more about Trawsfynydd Site here.
