Sellafield gears up for international nuclear conference

Many of the world's most respected nuclear experts are converging on Cumbria later this month for a two-day conference at the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), at Sellafield.

More than 50 delegates from around Europe, the US, Japan and South Africa are expected to attend the 45th annual meeting of the Hot Laboratories and Remote Handling Working Group, being held between 22 - 23 September.

NNL's laboratory is one of the key hot labs in the UK. Its range of cutting edge services includes post irradiation examination, characterisation of materials and samples to support the operation of reprocessing and fuel manufacturing plants, waste segregation, volume reduction and packing operations, fuel characterisation and processing operations.

The conference programme includes a range of papers presented by leading scientists from around the world, together with a tour of the NNL's 'hot cells' area, recognised as being among the most advanced in the world.

The major conference is being hosted in the UK for the fifth time since the Hot Labs Working Group was originally set up in 1963.

Delegates aim to share knowledge on the latest analytical methods and technical issues such as remote handling techniques, safety features, waste handling, transport and licensing, as well as discussing the development of the industry.