Radiochemistry and Waste Management

2 June 2009
Sellafield Visitors Centre

The inaugural Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 'Radiochemistry and Waste Management' conference was recently held at the Sellafield Centre. The event attracted over 75 expert delegates from the nuclear industry, the supply chain, local educational institutes, the Dalton Nuclear Institute and leading universities from across the UK. 

The conference was organised by the UKAEA's Dr Steve Black and Leanne Hodgson with the purpose of bringing together two of the RSC's interest groups in a joint conference, covering aspects of analytical science, radiochemistry and waste management. 

In opening the conference, Michelle Wise, Head of Technical Services at UKAEA, emphasised how encouraging it was to see so many younger scientists in the audience, many of whom were European Nuclear Society Young Generation Network members. Michelle said: "The event was particularly relevant to the members of the YGN as it demonstrated the variety of research work being carried out and the opportunities these represent to gradates joining the industry today". Chris Williams, YGN chairman, added: ''The seminar was a great success and it was pleasing to see so many young people in attendance, underlining the exciting research opportunities that exist to underpin the crucial decommissioning and waste management work that lies ahead. I hope to see similar events in the future."

Professor Francis Livens of Manchester University and the academic director of the Dalton Institute, delivered the Keynote lecture. The afternoon session included lectures from Dr Nick Evans of Loughborough University and industry speakers from both Sellafield and UKAEA. 

The success of the conference was reflected in the number of positive comments received from the delegates. Sellafield Ltd's Chris Mathieson, Windscale Vitrification Plant technical support, said: "It was interesting to see the radiochemistry research being performed in support of Sellafield operations. "It was obvious that this will be an area of much further study in the future, particularly in the areas applicable to encapsulation technologies and groundwater flow."

Leanne Hodgson, who helped organise the event and is a YGN member herself, added: ''The conference has proved to be a great success and it is our intention to make the conference a biannual event."