Sellafield’s Magnox
swarf storage silo
MSSS is an intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) storage facility constructed between 1964 and 1983. The facility consists of 22 concrete silos, housing 11,000 cubic metres of solid waste and radioactive cover water. Leaks, first detected in the 1970s, are hard to locate due to complex infrastructure and radiation risk.
Later extensions
(right side of drawing)
Operations
floor area
Original building
(left side of drawing)
Complex infrastructure
makes visibility and
access difficult
External
walls
Double-
layered silos
22 concrete silos
Waste is stored under water to control
temperatures and prevent ignition; cover
water is radioactive because of dissolution
Sellafield’s Magnox swarf storage silo
MSSS is an intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) storage facility constructed between 1964 and 1983. The facility consists of 22 concrete silos, housing 11,000 cubic metres of solid waste and radioactive cover water. Leaks, first detected in the 1970s, are hard to locate due to complex infrastructure and radiation risk.
Later extensions
(right side
of drawing)
Original building
(left side of drawing)
Complex infrastructure
makes visibility and
access difficult
Operations
floor area
External
walls
Double-
layered silos
22 concrete silos
Waste is stored under water to control
temperatures and prevent ignition; cover
water is radioactive because of dissolution
Sellafield’s Magnox swarf storage silo
MSSS is an intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) storage facility constructed between 1964 and 1983. The facility consists of 22 concrete silos, housing 11,000 cubic metres of solid waste and radioactive cover water. Leaks, first detected in the 1970s, are hard to locate due to complex infrastructure and radiation risk.
22 concrete silos
Waste is stored under water
to control temperatures and
prevent ignition; cover water
is radioactive because
of dissolution
Operations
floor area
Original building
(left side of drawing)
Complex infrastructure
makes visibility and
access difficult
Later extensions
(right side
of drawing)
Double-layered silos
The silos are just over 16 metres
deep, approximately 5 metres of
which are underground
Sellafield’s Magnox swarf storage silo
MSSS is an intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) storage facility constructed between 1964 and 1983. The facility consists of 22 concrete silos, housing 11,000 cubic metres of solid waste and radioactive cover water. Leaks, first detected in the 1970s, are hard to locate due to complex infrastructure and radiation risk.
Operations
floor area
Later extensions
(right side
of drawing)
22 concrete silos
Waste is stored under water
to control temperatures and
prevent ignition; cover water
is radioactive because
of dissolution
Original building
(left side of drawing)
Complex infrastructure
makes visibility and
access difficult
External walls
Double-layered silos
The silos are just over 16 metres deep, approximately 5 metres of which are underground
Sellafield’s Magnox swarf storage silo
MSSS is an intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) storage facility constructed between 1964 and 1983. The facility consists of 22 concrete silos, housing 11,000 cubic metres of solid waste and radioactive cover water. Leaks, first detected in the 1970s, are hard to locate due to complex infrastructure and radiation risk.
Operations
floor area
22 concrete silos
Waste is stored under water
to control temperatures and
prevent ignition; cover water
is radioactive because
of dissolution
Later extensions
(right side of drawing)
Double-layered
silos
External walls
Original building
(left side of drawing)
Complex infrastructure
makes visibility and
access difficult
The silos are just over 16 metres deep, approximately 5 metres of which are underground