Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-wq484 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T17:32:03.230Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The National Nuclear Laboratory and Collaborative University Research in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Graham A. Fairhall
Graham A. Fairhall*
Affiliation:
graham.a.fairhall@nnl.co.uk, United States
Get access

Abstract

The UK has recently established its first National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). This has been formed out of the Nexia Solutions organisation, formally the Research and Technology subsidiary of BNFL. Over the next year the NNL will develop so that it can fulfil its mission, which will include the development and maintenance of key skills and undertaking strategic R&D programmes both in the UK and in international collaborations. A key role of the NNL will be to enhance its interactions with universities to facilitate skills transfer into the nuclear industry as well as support its R&D programmes. Over the past decade the NNL and its predecessor has already established close relationships with leading universities in the UK including Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds and Imperial College London. One of the key objectives of the NNL has been to work in an integrated way with university researchers with programmes spanning fundamental research through to applied R&D. This paper describes the future plans for working with universities as the NNL develops, building on the success to date. Joint R&D research programmes already cover many important areas for the nuclear industry. This includes support for the UK Pu disposition programme where R&D at the Immobilisation Science Laboratory, Sheffield has included investigating a range of ceramic and glass wasteforms which has allowed a number of ceramic wasteforms to be down selected for detailed evaluation. Cementation research has included understanding wasteform performance, for example long-term durability. This has involved work on determining free water and the implications for immobilisation of reactive wastes. Other work involving the NNL and Universities, in particular at Leeds and Manchester, has considered the characteristics and behaviour of intermediate and high level waste sludges. This has included determining the chemical speciation of actinides and fission products, and physical properties of active and simulated sludges using experimental and modelling techniques. A significant programme on environmental work has been undertaken by the NNL. In research applicable to low level waste disposal and contaminated land reactive transport modelling is utilised to apply experimental and field based research in environmental geochemistry and radiochemistry undertaken by university collaborators. This paper will describe a number of examples of R&D carried out by NNL in association with its university partners.

Keywords

waste managementnuclear materialsactinide
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1124: Symposium Q – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXXII , 2008 , 1124-Q01-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Stennett, M. C., Hyatt, N. C., Maddrell, E. R., Scales, C. R., Livens, F. R. and Gilbert, M., in Scientific Basis For Nuclear Waste Management Xxx, edited by Dunn, D., POINSSOT, C. and Begg, B. (Mater.Res. Soc. Symp. PROC. 985, Warrendale, PA, 2007).Google Scholar
2. Harrison, M. T., Scales, C. R., Bingham, P. A. and Hand, R. J., in Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXX, edited by Dunn, D., Poinssot, C. and Begg, B. (Mater.Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 985, Warrendale, PA, 2007).Google Scholar
3. Setiadi, A., PhD. Thesis, University of Sheffield (2006).Google Scholar
4. Setiadi, A., Milestone, N.B., Hill, J. and Hayes, M., Cement and Concrete Science Conference 25, Egham, Surrey (2006).Google Scholar
5. Collier, N.C., Milestone, N.B., Hill, J. and Godfrey, I.H., Waste Management, 26 (7), 769–775 (2006).Google Scholar
6. Collier, N.C., PhD. Thesis, University of Sheffield (2006).Google Scholar
7. Utton, C., PhD. Thesis, University of Sheffield (2006).Google Scholar
8. Harbottle, D., Rhodes, D., Jones, T.F., and Biggs, S.R., Hydrotransport 17, The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the BHR Group (2007).Google Scholar
9. Harbottle, D., Rhodes, D., Fairweather, M. and S.R Biggs, , Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management ICEM07, 7104, Bruges (2007).Google Scholar
10. Pitois, A., Ivanov, P.I., Abrahamsen, L.G., Bryan, N.D., Taylor, R.J. and Sims, H.E., J Environ. Monit., 10, 315–324 (2008).Google Scholar
11. Kwong, S. and Small, J... Reactive transport modelling of the interaction of fission product ground contamination with alkaline and cementitious leachates.Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management ICEM07, Bruges (2007).Google Scholar