The Doosan Keltbray Consortium has been selected as preferred bidder for vital nuclear decommissioning work at Magnox’s Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station in North Wales and mobilisation and preparatory works has commenced. The work, valued at £28 million, is an essential part of delivering the site into its ‘care and maintenance’ (C&M) phase in an accelerated time-scale and has been secured partly as a result of the Consortium’s good track record at similar facilities, such as Bradwell Power Station in Essex.
The Trawsfynydd contract covers the de-planting and demolition of the site’s former cooling ponds complex – which was used to store and cool used nuclear fuel elements after they were removed from the reactors. The project will involve dismantling and removing pipework, tanks and cooling equipment – some of which has become radioactively contaminated during the station’s operational life and early phases of decommissioning.
The Doosan Keltbray Consortium team will carry out extensive survey work before agreeing the detailed programme of work with Magnox, which operates the site, on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
The contract forms a key part of Magnox’s programme to deliver Trawsfynydd into a state of ‘care and maintenance’ by December 2016 – significantly earlier than originally planned. At this point, the plant will be left in a passively safe state while the natural process of radioactive decay takes place, reducing levels of radioactivity to a point where the site can be finally cleared by conventional demolition. Trawsfynydd will be one of the UK’s first two nuclear sites, alongside Bradwell in Essex, to enter into ‘care and maintenance’.
Peter Burns, Magnox Site Director at Trawsfynydd, said: “Decommissioning the ponds complex is one of the major projects on the site and its completion will signify a major milestone in our journey to care and maintenance.”
“The Doosan Keltbray Consortium looks forward to continuing our long history of supporting Magnox and delivering the safe and efficient decommissioning of the cooling ponds facility at Trawsfynyyd. This project will provide employment for up to 100 nuclear-trained and certified operatives and draws on the experience of previous decommissioning projects completed by Doosan Babcock and Keltbray across the Magnox fleet,” said Doosan Babcock’s Nuclear Service Director, Cameron Gilmour.
According to Keltbray’s Managing Director for Rail & Infrastructure, Phill Price, “the success of this project will rest on delivering a safe project, on time and to budget. However, a key element of our programme of works involves working with the local teams to look at how we create long term opportunities beyond the lifetime of the Trawsfynydd site. The Doosan Keltbray Consortium is committed to making this a reality.”
The Doosan Keltbray Consortium will build on its experience of the safe de-planting and demolition of similar facilities at other sites, including de-planting of the boiler houses at Bradwell Power Station, which was recently completed a month ahead of schedule after two-and–a-half-years of safe and productive work, during which 250,000 man hours were completed without a lost time accident.
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About Doosan Babcock
Doosan Babcock’s investment in people, facilities and tooling has supported the development of the UK nuclear industry for over half a century. Today, the company’s nuclear expertise spans nuclear newbuild, including concept and feasibility studies, design, manufacture, procurement, site installation and commissioning, as well as maintenance, specialist inspection technologies, plant-life extension, decommissioning and waste-handling services.
Doosan Babcock is part of a powerful combination of companies united under the Doosan Group to deliver complementary technologies, skills and value to customers the world over.
For more information, please contact:
Nick Johnson
Doosan Power Systems SA
Telephone: +44(0) 1293 584773
Email: [email protected]
Keltbray Group
Keltbray is the UK’s leading specialist engineering, construction, decommissioning and environmental services business providing fully integrated services to meet the needs of diverse and complex projects. We are committed to engineering innovation and industry leadership in health, safety, quality and the environment. Our in-house training focuses the business on excellence and on delivering value to our clients thereby fostering long lasting relationships and partnerships. High profile projects include Europe’s tallest building – The Shard, London’s Thames Link and deplanting at Bradwell Power station.
For more information, please contact:
Marit Meyer-Bell
Keltbray Group
Telephone: +44(0) 7867653392
Email: [email protected]
