Page 277 - Beyond Decommissioning

258 Beyond Decommissioning

Fig. 6.43 Chapelcross pond, empty, UK.
Copyright Magnox Ltd.

Preliminary reuse evaluations determined there was potential reuse in forms of
aquaculture.
Obviously, an aboveground storage tank can be repurposed to store a different liq-
uid than previously. Before filling the tank with a new liquid, however, several steps
are needed to ensure a safe reuse. These include conducting an inspection to verify
tank integrity, determining whether an internal coating is needed, and assessing
whether regulations require the tank to have secondary containment (Heartland
Tank Services, 2015).
Used steel tanks can also be re-purposed for a wide variety of new uses, limited
only by imagination, including, among many others:

l Shed and Storage Shelters
l Storm and Weather Shelters
l Secure Storage Bunkers
Solar Flare Protection for Valuable Electronics and Generators
l
Covered Foot Bridges e.g. for small rivers
l
Guidance on reuse of wastewater tanks for the collection of storm-water is given in
Hornsby (n.d.).
In the nonnuclear sector, an interesting case of reuse is offered by the Brauhaus,
Wuppertal, Germany. The former swimming pool was opened to the public in
1882. It operated as such until 1993 under Germany’s Monument Protection law.
Closed on financial grounds, the structure reopened as a successful restaurant in
1997 (Brauhaus, n.d.)(Fig. 6.45).