Nuclear material tracking

Tonress power station, East Lothian

Siemens Manufacturing Execution Systems has implemented a vital system to track and trace all nuclear materials produced by the UK’s largest generator of electricity.

British Energy, which produces around one-sixth of the nation’s power, required a new Nuclear Materials Accountancy System that would allow them to catalogue and locate nuclear material in accordance with the European Commission Safeguards Regulation No 302/2005. This legislation sets out the EC reporting requirements for the production and use of nuclear resources, including waste.

There are a number of highly specialised factors that the system must track, including operating records, quantities, the form and composition of the materials, calibration and details of instrumentation and reference dates for the isotopic composition of plutonium.

To meet this responsibility, Siemens MES, a division of Siemens Automation and Drives, used their state-of-the-art SIMATIC IT to account for the movement of the material. The system also allows the submission of reports in electronic formats, which was introduced in the EC legislation.

Work was phased in across British Energy’s eight nuclear sites, which have a combined capacity of approximately 9,600 megawatts, over the course of 18 months.

Mark Perry, MES UK manager, said: “To conform to this regulation the accountancy system must adhere to a strict set of safeguards because of the importance of ensuring that the nuclear material is accounted for. SIMATIC IT is an ideal solution for this sort of track and trace requirement because it can be integrated across all components, provides optimal quality, and ensures production efficiency across all the facilities by synchronizing and coordinating the functions provided by the individual components.”

Siemens MES’ partner on the project was Digital Applications International, a software and systems company with a proven track record for delivering reliable solutions. DAI has 10 years experience in the UK nuclear industry and were responsible for the integration of the system into the sites’ existing IT infrastructure.

A spokesperson for British Energy said: “DAI and Siemens have delivered a well-executed project which has deployed a high quality system across our plants. We are pleased with the effectiveness of the implementation and are already seeing its benefits.”

Mr Perry concluded: “We are delighted with the way Siemens, DAI, and British Energy worked together to implement this job efficiently and effectively.”

www.siemens.co.uk

www.british-energy.com

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