NIREX petrological samples archive

This report describes archival curation of petrological samples and related digital records
arising from past investigations undertaken by the BGS under the Nirex Site
Investigations Programmes at Sellafield and, to a lesser extent, Dounreay. This consisted
of the following tasks:
1. Log all relevant samples and subsamples in order to verify which can be readily made
available for future investigations.
2. Record their present storage locations within the BGS site at Keyworth.
3. Determine the extent of electronic records relating to these samples and held on the
Apple Mac databases within the (former) Mineralogy and Petrology Group.
4. Transfer these databases into the BGS data architecture.
5. Prepare a report recording these activities and metadata necessary to locate the
samples/subsamples and records for subsequent use.
The collections and electronic records were assembled during a series of investigations
carried out mostly by the Mineralogy and Petrology Group (MPG) of the British
Geological Survey in the early to mid 1990s, and some carried out by field staff of BGS.
These investigations formed part of the Site Investigations carried out by Nirex in
seeking a site acceptable for construction of a repository for low and medium level
radioactive waste.