Magnox has announced the completion of an eight year project to remove asbestos from a former nuclear plant.

The programme at the Chapelcross site has been completed a year ahead of schedule and £5 million under budget.

The original estimate for the project was £43 million while the actual cost was £38 million.

The main contractor, OCS Environmental Services, has stripped 3,300 tonnes of asbestos from the turbine hall, four reactor buildings and 16 heat exchangers.

Before the asbestos stripping could commence, two years were taken building a containment structure around each of the 16 heat exchangers to aid in the development of asbestos enclosures and protect the material from further damage by wind and rain.

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506,246 feet of steel scaffolding was used, along with 194,576 fittings, 276 ladders, 48.84 tonnes of steel strengthening and 24,000 square metres of Powerclad sheeting.

Polythene enclosures were developed making sure staff were protected from any exposure to the asbestos removal operations and ensuring the materials fibres were contained.

Once the bulk asbestos was removed, the steelwork was fine cleaned and taken back to bare metal before being washed down.

The fibre levels inside and adjacent to the enclosure were monitored by a team of independent Asbestos Analysts from Environmental Evaluation.

Site Director, John Grierson, said: "This is a tremendous achievement for Chapelcross and OCS Environmental Services; the safe, early and cost efficient delivery is testament to the quality of the personnel working on the project.

"It is a major milestone in moving the site towards a care and maintenance state and demonstrates our commitment to excellence in nuclear decommissioning."

Brian Burnett, Head of Programmes at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), said: "The safe removal of 3,300 tonnes of asbestos at Chapelcross completes an important hazard reduction activity for the site and a key step on the path to care and maintenance.

"I commend Chapelcross and Magnox on completing this project."

(LM/MH)