Nuclear work set to expand

More specialist demolition opportunities could open up for contractors interested in nuclear work following the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's report that increased efficiency has cut decommissioning costs by nearly half.

UKAEA attributed the progress down to a "powerful management team." It said that work can be opened up to contractors to win further benefits from competition and innovative approaches to decommissioning in what it called a "special kind of construction and demolition activity."

Tougher project management and better efficiency has cut the cost to tax-payers of decommissioning nuclear power plants by 40 per cent, from œ363 million in 1994/95 to œ219 million in the last financial year. The comparison in the UKAEA's annual results was based on a similar programme of work as the previous year.

UKAEA plans to boost its project management strengths further and has formed an integrated management team to handle decommissioning at Dounreay. The work at Dounreay and other decommissioning projects, such as at Windscale (CJ 2 May), will help develop a new business sector.

"We believe that using more contractors will also help to develop a strong decommissioning industry in the UK, able to compete and win business in overseas markets," said a UKAEA spokesman.

Consultant WS Atkins has joined AEA Technology and Rolls-Royce Nuclear Engineering Services for the work at Dounreay. UKAEA hopes that the team will be able to help it identify new business opportunities for the site.

In May, Magnox Electric won a œ10 million contract from UKAEA to operate a robotic machine for dismantling the radioactive innards of the reactor vessel at the Windscale advanced gas cooled reactor in Cumbria. The UKAEA spokesman said that the decision to demolish the concrete bioshield would take place in 2000 and would depend on the levels of tritium caused by neutron bombardment.