Nuclear mattersU.K. awards 160 million Pound nuclear decommissioning contracts

Sellafield nuclear plant, the U.K.'s oldest // Source: thailandtimes.asia

The decommissioning of one of U.K. oldest nuclear plants — Sellafield, located close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England — has taken a giant step forward thanks to the awarding of three waste retrieval contracts worth more than £160 million.

The contracts, awarded to Sir Robert McAlpine, Bechtel Babcock Nuclear Services, and Clarke Chapman Group, will help to ensure that decommissioning the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo forms a key part of the accelerated program on the site while safeguarding hundreds of local jobs throughout the supply chain.

Sellafield says that the work will underpin the decommissioning of the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo which is almost 60 years old and contains over 4,000 cubic meters of historic radioactive waste

Keith Case, Commercial Director said: “These are very important contracts that will be of great benefit to the local community. We know that the companies who have been awarded this work are committed to Cumbria and will make significant use of the supply chain in this area.

“As a result of these contracts, Babcock has significantly enlarged its local office in Cumbria, while Bechtel has opened new premises. It is the stated mission of Sellafield Ltd, together with our owners and operators, Nuclear Management Partners in agreement with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, to deliver an accelerated reduction of the high-hazard facilities on the site in a cost effective and safe manner.”

Bechtel Babcock Nuclear Services have been awarded the largest of the three contracts, worth £150 million to design and manufacture specialized waste retrieval modules, while Sir Robert McAlpine will manufacture the retrieval superstructure under a contract worth £8 million.

A contract worth £3 million will see the Clarke Chapman Group design, build and operate a crane to handle the waste packages.