D8530 sodium lab
D8530, the sodium test facility building, was demolished in 2005.
When construction was completed in 1961, its test rigs played a vital role in helping UKAEA develop its understanding of sodium and its various reactions.
Sodium played a vital role in fast reactor development, acting as a heat transfer medium from the reactor. The facility’s rigs were used to study the reaction of water on sodium, sodium fires, and analysing the effect sodium had on the pipes and components it flowed through, and on various other materials.
A large part of the facility was demolished in 2004. The office block and a laboratory where some experiments were still being conducted was demolished the following year.
John Gunn & Son, Lybster, carried out the demolition.
D8530 ready for final demolition
Soft stripping of D8530
Workers stripping the building
Tidying up after demolition
D8530 is cleared
.jpg&width=85&height=68)
