Nuclear Energy and waste processing

In its everyday processes, a nuclear power plant will generate waste materials. These materials can be electrical or mechanical, from tools and machinery, or can be structural (steel and concrete, for example) from plant/buildings to be decommissioned. These materials must be decontaminated to be made ready for free release.

All the waste must first be size-reduced and all surfaces need to be exposed for processing. At this point the waste can be cleaned in a blast machine.

Radioactive contamination sits on the surface of the waste - on the paint or outer layer of the material. The blast machine will remove the outer surface of the waste, and therefore remove the contamination. The contaminated material is separated and can be processed safely, and the waste part is now clean and ready for free release.

Wheelabrator has designed and supplied various types of shot blast equipment for processing material as a result of plant/building decommissioning and production of miscellaneous general waste. The equipment includes Tumblast, Rotary Tables and multi-wheel Roller Conveyor machines.