MORE than 100 waste skip used to hold fuel elements at Oldbury Power Station have been removed from the site as part of the decommissioning process.

A total of 109 low level waste skips, the containers used to hold the fuel once they had been removed from the reactor, have now been safely taken out of the ponds; processed and packaged for storage.

This marks a significant step along the journey to fully decommissioning the cooling ponds. Work at the site will now focus on removing the pond furniture and remaining skips, which are currently storing other components, before the end of the year.

This will be followed by draining of the pond water and stabilisation of the surfaces, due to take place in 2018.

Rob Taylor, ponds campaign manager at Oldbury, said: “The work was completed in challenging conditions but was delivered ahead of schedule.

“The achievement is a significant one for the site as we work towards decommissioning the facilities that once allowed it to operate, in a safe and efficient manner.”

To take a look behind the scenes at work inside Oldbury Site’s ponds, click here to watch a short film.