Babcock has been awarded a contract by Magnox for an
intermediate level waste (ILW) retrieval and processing project, at
the Berkeley site. The project is placed under the Magnox ILW
Management Programme, for which a framework contract was awarded to
Babcock by Magnox earlier this year.
Under this contract Babcock will be undertaking ILW retrieval
and processing of the Fuel Element Debris (FED) from the Active
Waste Vault 2 (AWV2) at Magnox's Berkeley site in Gloucestershire,
in preparation for packaging into containers by Magnox in line with
the strategy for safe, long-term storage. The circa £14
million total project will take around four years to complete.
Key areas to be addressed include the FED waste retrieval from
Vault 2 and the waste transfer module which will facilitate the
transport of the waste to the sorting module, where the low level
waste (LLW) and ILW level wastes can be separated. The waste
can then be prepared for packaging in containers. The initial
contracted phase involves concept design through to completion of
the engineering design. Phase two will include the detail
design, manufacture, integrated works testing, installation and
inactive and active commissioning. Once the equipment has
been formally accepted the third and final phase of the project
will cover the operation of the installed plant to remove the FED
waste, and carry out the sorting and packaging into the appropriate
containers.
Babcock has gained an in-depth knowledge of the waste streams
produced at each of the Magnox stations during generation, and the
historically stored wastes following cessation of generation.
Babcock business manager for Magnox Gary Ward points out:
"Babcock has unrivalled expertise in this domain and extensive
experience of working within the nuclear industry, backed by a
large professional SQEP workforce coupled with an excellent safety
record and safety and quality management systems. Our team,
including key suppliers, has both the expertise and breadth of
technical capabilities to cover all the skill sets required for
this contract, as well as the facilities to fabricate, assemble and
works test the modules identified in our solutions. This plus
our collaborative culture and way of working with our clients -
working closely with them to understand their drivers and
constraints and align our own with them to ensure mutual success -
are among the key strengths we will be bringing to this
project."
Steve Templar, ILW Programme Director for Magnox located at
Berkeley, added: "Delivering the Intermediate Level Waste campaign
at Berkeley is a big priority for the Magnox decommissioning
programme. I am delighted that we are teaming up with Babcock and
look forward to working together to deliver safe and efficient
clean-up for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority."
Babcock is one of six companies to have been awarded a framework
contract for ILW retrieval and processing work across all the
Magnox sites, and one of only three to have secured a contract for
both solid and wet wastes. The Berkeley contract is one of
the first projects to be competed under this framework.