Over the past 60 years, Britain has established 20 nuclear sites and facilities, as part of its civil nuclear programme. These are now managed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Current estimates of the cost of decommissioning the sites and handling waste management and disposal stand at around £70 billion.

Researchers in the University's Departments of Engineering Materials and Civil Engineering have been awarded over £800,000 to help address the radioactive waste problem. Dr Neil Hyatt and Professor Steve Banwart will lead the development of the next generation of waste treatment technologies, as part of the new Decommissioning, Immobilisation and Management of Nuclear Wastes for Disposal (DIAMOND) consortium.

The consortium draws on the expertise from Sheffield, as well as the Universities of Manchester, Imperial College, Loughborough, University College London and Leeds. The four-year programme has received £4.2 million funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

In a separate project, Dr Hyatt will also develop new methods for the safe treatment of wet intermediate level waste at the Hinkley Point A site in Somerset, under a contract awarded by Magnox Electric Ltd and funded by the NDA.

Dr Neil Hyatt, from the University's Department of Engineering Materials at the University of Sheffield, said: "We are aiming to develop solutions to address existing and future problems in radioactive waste management, as well as training the next generation of engineers to put these solutions into practice. Sheffield has a key role to play in this national effort."

Professor Steve Banwart, from the University's Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, added: "This is an exciting collaboration at Sheffield between two strong groups that bridge fundamental molecular science and practical engineering solutions to real problems."


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