The Whiteshell Laboratories site is getting ready to receive a one-of-a-kind shipment that will take waste retrieval to the next level. The Standpipes and Bunkers Waste Retrieval System (SBWRS) is a unique, three-unit structure developed to retrieve, sort, and repackage high-hazard radioactive waste from Whiteshell’s standpipes and bunkers. It will soon be on its way to the site.
The highly anticipated shipment of the SBWRS is nothing like your online shopping delivery. It is so big that it will take about 90 truck trips to have all its parts delivered.
The exclusive system is almost entirely assembled using commercial off-the-shelf items to maximize safety, operability, and maintainability—which are essential for high-hazard radioactive waste processing equipment. This system will advance the standpipe retrieval work to its next step in the WL site’s waste retrieval process, prioritizing safety.
The system is being tested for functionality on full-scale, mock-up bunkers and standpipes at CNL’s Integrated System Operability Testing facility in Cambridge, Ontario. After testing is complete, it will be disassembled and transported to Whiteshell Laboratories in Manitoba.
The 1.4 million pound waste retrieval equipment is composed of three mobile units:
- Standpipe Waste Retrieval System (SWRS)
- Bunker Waste Retrieval System (BWRS)
- Sorting and Conditioning Unit (SCU)
The SWRS can be placed on top of two standpipes and has a remotely controlled arm, the Standpipe Waste Retrieval Arm (SWARM), that can be operated from up to 150 meters away. Cameras installed in the equipment allow for accurate waste retrieval while keeping workers at a safe distance.
The BWRS is equipped to hammer through bunkers’ lids and reach the stored waste in the ground. It can dig up to 16 feet below grade, pull the waste out, and send it to the SCU for sorting.
The SCU will receive the retrieved waste from SWRS & BWRS, segregate and package according to its hazard level. The packaged waste will then be shipped to Chalk River Laboratories, in Ontario, for storage.
This state of the art equipment is set to support staff in revolutionizing waste retrieval and management at Whiteshell. It will facilitate overall site decommissioning through the Whiteshell Laboratories Restoration Project; a project which is a key part of the federal environmental remediation mission to safely cleanup legacy nuclear waste.
