Transport 2020

The first six of the total of 20 casks with vitrified waste from the reprocessing of German fuel elements at Sellafield, which are still to be returned, were scheduled to be shipped to Germany to the federal interim storage facility in Biblis in spring 2020. Due to the Corona pandemic this transport had to be suspended. After elaborating comprehensive protection and hygiene concepts for all parties involved, the transport could be carried out in autumn 2020.

After the ship passage from England, the casks have been transferred from the dedicated vessel "Pacific Grebe" onto dedicated railway wagons in in the North German port Nordenham. The train with the six wagons then travelled directly to Biblis, where it could shunt to the immediate vicinity of the interim storage building via the siding belonging to the interim storage operator BGZ. There, the casks will be unloaded successively and brought to the interim storage building.

In the interim storage facility, the casks are temporarily parked in the storage area using the indoor crane. From there, each cask is taken individually to the maintenance area of the interim storage facility, where it is prepared for interim storage. Among other things, the secondary cover including the pressure switch required for leakage monitoring is installed. Finally, the casks are placed in the storage area with the indoor crane and connected to the monitoring system.