Work has started to demolish one of the tallest chimneys at the Sellafield nuclear decommissioning site.

The 61-metre stack, located on top of the 61-metre First Generation Reprocessing Plant, is being levelled as the 60-year-old structure no longer meets modern construction standards.

Using hand held tools such as drills, hydraulic breakers, concrete crunching jaws and plasma steel cutting torches, workers will remove each piece of concrete and steel from the stack by hand to a waiting waste skip.

Sellafied Ltd has worked with partners Nuvia Ltd and Delta International to design an innovative self-climbing platform so workers can safely access the 650-tonne chimney.

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The project, which started in October, is scheduled for completion by 2020.

Stuart Latham, head of remediation at Sellafield Ltd, said: "Cleaning up our legacy facilities safely, quickly and cost-effectively is our absolute priority, so are delighted to now see the stack coming down after 4 years of preparation.

"Given the structural integrity of the stack, its location in the heart of the site and the fact that this new technique has never been used here before, the planning has been comprehensive. The project demonstrates the challenges of decommissioning the Sellafield site.

"We couldn't move a crumb of this chimney without building a modern replacement first, so this has been a complicated project, made easier by working closely with our supply chain."

(LM/MH)