Dating from the 1950s the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS) is a reinforced concrete structure comprised of six departments containing around 3,200m³ (equivalent of approximately 30 double decker buses), of intermediate level waste (ILW).
The primary role of PFCS was the receipt and dry storage of fuel cladding from the Windscale Piles. Waste was routinely tipped into the silo through access points in the roof until 1964, with further occasional tipping work continuing until 1972.
Between 1972 and 2022 the facility remained in a state of care and maintenance with the waste inventory remaining largely untouched. But in a major milestone for the site, and only after we had given permission to do so, in the summer of 2023 work began to start removing waste from PFCS.
This had been years in planning and required the installation of high integrity doors along the North wall of the facility to allow access to the waste. As well as controlling access to the facility, the doors also ensure an argon atmosphere is maintained.
Once removed the waste is placed into specially designed boxes which are transported to a modern purpose build facility on the site, where they will remain until a geological disposal facility becomes available.
Once all of the waste has been safely removed, the silo will be decommissioned and eventually demolished.