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Halcrow’s team includes contaminated land specialists, environmentalists and geotechnical engineers ensuring that whenever Halcrow is commissioned to undertake environmental work, we can provide a service with real depth and scope whilst delivering a fully integrated solution.
| Environmental services |
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BPM and BPEO Production |
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bio diversity studies |
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contaminated land site characterisation |
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hydrogeological Assessment |
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contaminated land site remediation |
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post closure safety cases |
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dispersion modelling |
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environmental audits |
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| Projects |
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Hunterston ‘A’ Temporary Weather Barrier Safety Case |
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Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg |
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Dounreay - D1209 ventilation replacement |
Halcrow’s environmental specialists, as part of the nuclear focus team, provide the following services to clients in the nuclear industry:
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environmental impact assessment of proposed site development projects and associated plans for mitigative measures |
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strategic environmental assessment of plans and programmes |
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sustainability appraisals of future plans for nuclear sites and their associated communities |
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pollution permitting support for existing and new site processes/site operators e.g. against the requirements of the PPC Regulations and the Radioactive Substances Act |
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due diligence audit for transactions involving change of ownership for nuclear business entities |
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contaminated land assessment and remediation for sites or parts of sites within the nuclear estate |
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hydrogeological and other studies of waste management options for intermediate and low-level waste (on some coastal sites, erosion is a key factor impacting on land remediation and waste management). Halcrow's services encompass the full range of hydrogeology and contaminated land consultancy - from low-flow studies, flood studies, groundwater quality assessments, risk-based site assessments and remediation through to liability assessment, production of 'best practice' guidance and government policy formulation. |
| Case study - Hunterston A Temporary Weather Barrier Safety Case |
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Halcrow’s safety team are currently involved in the management and production of an options study review and safety case (Pre Commencement Safety Report) for the Hunterston A Reactor Buildings Temporary Weather Barrier project.
The commission involves the production of an options study to consider additional options which could be investigated to remove the potential hazard associated with the glazing system on the reactor buildings. This study was followed by the development of a PCSR to allow the project to progress to the installation phase. The PCSR production involved the identification, assessment and consideration of hazards associated with the project. This project represents one of the early stages of an eventual strategy to place the reactor buildings into safe store through the construction of a Weather Envelope, a project on which Halcrow are providing Design and Safety case services. |
| Case study - Drigg Post-Closure Safety Case |
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Halcrow has been continuously involved with Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) at Drigg since 1993. The work has comprised numerous studies intended to support BNFL’s Operational Environmental Safety Case and Post-Closure Safety Case. These include:
- risk assessment
- engineering performance studies
- reviews and costings of design options
- materials resource studies
- geotechnical interpretation
- development of a conceptual coastal change model.
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Elements of the work which are ongoing or have been completed since 2002 are summarised below.
Support for the preparation of the LLWR Post-Closure Safety Case (1996 – 2003)
Halcrow assisted BNFL in several aspects of the development and documentation of the September 2002 LLWR Post-Closure Safety Case (PCSC). This involved preparing two of the PCSC reports that were issued to the Environment Agency in September 2002 and preparation of over 20 supporting documents. The work included:
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preparing reviews of international practice in the design of radioactive waste disposal facilities, covering the approaches adopted worldwide for the disposal of intermediate and low-level waste and specifically dealing with international design practice for capping systems, cut-off walls and drainage systems. |
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outline design of several of the proposed barrier and drainage components including the capping system, cut-off walls and leachate drainage. Modifications were also proposed to the design of the vaults and the trench disposal areas to improve the long-term performance of the closure system. |
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design optimisation studies including evaluation of different types of bentonite enhanced soils for use in barrier components, and variants on cap geometry and cap construction. This work covered the very wide range of component performance and climatic conditions that could be anticipated during the life of the capping system (up to 10,000 years). |
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estimation of construction costs for closure system components, including cut-off walls, deep drainage systems, capping systems, slope protection and coastal defences. |
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reporting on the impact on the closure system of a wide range of possible future activities on the site, covering the potential radiological releases from the site resulting from future human actions, and other potentially disruptive events. |
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assisting in developing a detailed FEP (Features, Events and Processes) list identifying the processes that could influence the long-term performance of the closure system. The system will include many components designed to work together to minimise radiological impact. These components are likely to respond differently to changes in the external environment and to the FEPs that will affect the repository over time. |
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developing a methodology to look at the impact of the FEPs on the various components of the closure system. A risk-based approach used fault and event trees to identify and document fault sequences and other interactions that could affect closure system performance. |
Future Vaults (2002 – 2006)
Halcrow has had a number of roles in the design development of the future vaults. This has included:
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Participation in optioneering workshops reviewing options and reducing the number of technologies and designs that were taken forward to the second phase. |
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Participation in the Design Review Committee which reviewed the work of the design team. |
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Reviewing the documentation for the Higher Vault Stacking Planning Application, preparation of computer generated visualisations for the Planning Application and advice on the impact of the higher stacking on the long term performance of the closure system. |
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Undertaking a review and update of a report Halcrow prepared in 1994 covering all natural construction materials likely to be required for the construction of the repository. The resulting study identified the potential sources (quarries, gravel pits, sources of marine gravels etc) and summarised known information about the resources and their operations. |
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Providing specialist geotechnical support for the interpretation of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 ground investigations. Halcrow assessed the existing ground information and geology in relation to the proposed Vaults 9 to 15 and the preferred option for closure. |
| Drigg and Sellafield - Conceptual coastal change projection model (1999 - 2006) |
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Based on a review undertaken by Halcrow in 1999, it was concluded that the response of the coastline to past changes in sea level was complex and that a more detailed analysis of the historical evolution of the coastline was necessary. Halcrow was subsequently commissioned to develop a coastal database to include all historical topographic map data for the coastline, bathymetric surveys, selected aerial photograph coverage and other available spatial data. As part of this work, Halcrow undertook a detailed topographic and bathymetric survey of the coastline to establish an accurate baseline survey from which to assess past and future changes in coastline position, morphology and elevation. The survey of the coastal strip was undertaken using high-resolution digital aerial photography with integrated GPS and LiDAR.
Using the latest GIS technology these data were all spatially corrected to the Ordnance Survey grid projection to enable direct comparison of data sources. These data, together with information from the baseline survey of the area, have enabled a detailed assessment of changes in the coastline over the last 150 years. |
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