Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the ways in which 'concrete' is enlisted in the 'clean up' processes intrinsic to nuclear decommissioning. Building on the history of a synthetic material that has long been deployed to re-fashion nature, the paper discusses the on-going engineering of material potential.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will explore the ways in which 'concrete' is enlisted in the 'clean up' processes intrinsic to nuclear decommissioning. Current estimates suggest that it will take around 120 years and somewhere between 97 billion and 222 billion pounds to clean up Britain's 'historic' nuclear sites - 74% of which will be spent on the Sellafield site in West Cumbria. With no blue-prints for operations of this kind, Sellafield Ltd. has to imagine not only what 'clean up' might look like - but also how to enlist newly engineered materials and facilities to clear the site and return the land for future use. The concepts of imagination, ingenuity and hubris will guide discussion of this chapter in the history of a synthetic material that has long been deployed to re-fashion nature.