Nuclear firm lands £15m deal

Nuclear services firm Studsvik has won a £15m deal to transport and treat components from a nuclear power plant in Gloucestershire.

The company, which has its UK headquarters in Gateshead, has signed a contract with LLW Repository to manage the removal and treatment of 10 redundant heat exchangers from the Magnox Berkeley Site, which closed in 1989 and is now being decommissioned.

The heat exchangers each weigh over 300 tonnes and were used as an integral part of the electricity production process of the nuclear power station before it ceased operation in 1989.

There were 15 heat exchangers remaining at the site of which the first 5 were successfully removed in March 2012.

These are now being treated by Studsvik. This contract is for the transport and treatment of the remaining 10 heat exchangers, and will complete an important step in the decommissioning programme at Berkeley Site.

LLWR is acting on behalf of Magnox Ltd for the procurement and contract management of the project, which is scheduled to take place in 2013.

Early in 2013 Studsvik will transport the heat exchangers by road and sea to its processing facility at the Studsvik site, close to Nyköping in Sweden.

Studsvik has facilities for volume reduction, decontamination and recycling of heat exchangers and other large components from nuclear facilities, and has many years experience in such transports. Treatment of the first heat exchanger will start in 2013 with the last heat exchanger planned for treatment during 2014.

Sam Usher, president of Studsvik UK, said: "Our plans are economically and environmentally beneficial and show Studsvik's ability to manage complex waste problems. The project to remove the first 5 boilers was successful and we are looking forward to once again working with the LLWR and Magnox team on this important project and to complete the job.”