TPi May/July 2020

Business & market news

New cutting technology solves nuclear reactor drain blockages

According to EDF energy the stainless steel 75mm diameter drains were installed when the power station was built in the 1970s and are encased in concrete, which has made them difficult to keep clean. Simon Nickalls, operations manager at Lanes Preston, which carried out the work, said: “Both pipe cleaning devices were needed to achieve the required results. “As the Picote cleaner is new, this solution has only just become available. We’re very glad it was so effective. We can certainly see how it could be applied to other hard-to-reach pipe systems.” The drains are located within the radiologically controlled area (RCA) of the Heysham 1 reactor hall meaning that

Drainage engineers from Lanes Group plc have used new pipe cleaning technology to solve persistent drain blockage problems at a nuclear power station. Using two machines, a new Picote mini cleaner and an electro-mechanical cutter, the engineers cleared the drains in one of the two reactor halls at Heysham power station in Lancashire. Steve Hackett, a systems improvement engineer at the nuclear power station operated by EDF Energy, said: “Having an effective system for cleaning these effluent pipes is a big benefit for us. Persistent blockages had been adding to the operational burden for our engineering teams. We have been impressed with the drain cleaning solution and the way Lanes has implemented it.”

Clearing blocked reactor pipes

with a rotating steel cutting head on the end for scouring the inside of pipes. Then, the Picote mini cleaner was used to break up the blockage debris and push it into waste sumps, leaving the pipes clear. The device can be fitted with different rotating heads. In this case a flail was used. More than 100m of pipework were cleaned, along with surface water gullies and sink outlets, in three key areas: the reactor basement area, the gas circulation maintenance facility and the radiation effluent treatment plant. Lanes Group www.lanesfordrains.co.uk EDF Energy www.edfenergy.com

Lanes’ operatives had to wear specialist protective clothing and follow strict radiation protection procedures. The drains, which were contaminated with nuclear radiation, were cleaned in two stages. First, a Spartan electro-mechanical cutter was used to break through blockage material. The device has a flexible cable

Kloeckner Metals UK is now BES 6001 certified Kloeckner Metals UK has announced that its Leeds, Westok, London and Dudley sites have all obtained the BES 6001 certification for ‘responsible sourcing of construction products’. certification as it reflects Kloeckner’s ongoing commitment to improving its environmental and social impact. The new BES 6001 standard gives our customers further assurance that materials are of high-quality and sourced responsibly from ethical suppliers.” on-going commitment to the principles of responsible sourcing in relation to the provision of a specific product.

The new BES 6001 certificate adds the sustainability advantage to Kloeckner customers as it helps to contribute to their own sustainability efforts. Furthermore, clients and stakeholders can now be confident of the ethical and responsible approach by Kloeckner Metals UK in its sourcing and operations. Kloeckner Metals UK www.kloecknermetalsuk.com

This new certification will help Kloeckner ensure and demonstrate that all its products have been made using materials that have been responsibly sourced and in a sustainable manner. Kevin Maddison, Kloeckner Metals UK Group quality manager, said: “We are incredibly proud of this new

Developed by the Building Research Establishment the environmental and sustainability standard specifies require- ments for organisational management, supply chain management and manage- ment of sustainability issues in order to allow organisations to demonstrate an

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL May/July 2020

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