Kurion’s GeoMelt In-Container Vitrification plant at the U.K. National Nuclear Laboratory’s (NNL) Central Laboratory at Sellafield is now operational, after the end of cold and active commissioning last month.
NNL and Kurion announced the news Monday, saying they performed the system’s first commercial melt last week, treating corroded Magnox fuel sludge combined with contaminated soil for the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
“Leading decision makers from the U.S., Japan and Europe have come to respect the great work taking place at the NNL, and we intend to use this new system to demonstrate the effectiveness of GeoMelt for applications across the worldwide nuclear market,” Kurion founder John Raymont said in a statement.
French multinational Veolia in April finalized its $350 million acquisition of Kurion, a California-based developer of nuclear waste cleanup technology.
Kurion noted that the U.K. Radioactive Waste Inventory lists more than 300,000 tons of intermediate-level waste and low-level waste suitable for thermal treatment with GeoMelt. The waste would be processed into a glass form suitable for long-term storage.
“This collaboration with Kurion brings together world-class scientists and engineers to accelerate the treatment of hazardous and radioactive waste,” NNL Customer and Delivery Director Nick Hanigan said in the statement.
