News
Previous News
- UKAEA Ltd celebrates successful first year - 1 April 2009
- The UK Atomic Energy Authority seeks buyers for its commercial business, UKAEA Limited - 30 March 2009
- Successful Relicensing of UKAEA Sites - 2 February 2009
- UKAEA Hosts International Meeting - 29 January 2009
- UKAEA Director Awarded OBE - 5 January 2009
- UKAEA returns to Warrington's Birchwood Park - 31 December 2008
- Dounreay, Harwell and Winfrith Contracts to be Competed - 8 December 2008
- Dounreay’s dirtiest building is being demolished - 29 November 2008
- Appointment of Group Director, Human Resources - 19 November 2008
- UKAEA expertise applied to Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania - 5 November 2008
- UKAEA Sponsors Whitehaven Apprentice Award - 9 October 2008
- Charities benefit from UKAEA staff survey - 24 July 2008
- New HQ for UKAEA - 23 May 2008
- UK Atomic Energy Authority Restructures to Meet Decommissioning Strategy - 1 April 2008
To open the link above, you will require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- NDA extend UKAEA Pensions Administration Office Contract
- UKAEA Awarded New Ignalina Contract
- RSC Radiochemistry and Waste Management Conference Attracts Young Audience
- CEO Joins UK Delegation to Vienna Safety Convention
- UKAEA Ltd IT Team Outsourced to CSC
- CEO Appointed to Nuclear Liabilities Board
NDA extend UKAEA Pensions Administration Office Contract
Press Release
29 June 2009
The NDA has awarded the UKAEA Pensions Administration Office (PAO) an extension on its contract to manage the Combined Nuclear Pension Plan (CNPP).
This was done following a recommendation from the scheme Trustee.
The NDA’s Chief Financial Officer, William Roberts, made the announcement following a CNPP meeting in Thurso today (Monday 29 June 2009).
The UKAEA PAO was initially awarded the contract to manage the CNPP - an industry wide scheme - following a competitive bidding process in 2006.
The CNPP was developed to ensure that existing nuclear sector employees were not adversely affected by the NDA’s competition process and their subsequent transfer to a Parent Body Organisation (PBO) pension scheme (see Notes to Editors for more information).
Since being awarded the CNPP contract the PAO has successfully completed the transfer of over 11,000 employees to the scheme.
The NDA’s Chief Financial Officer, William Roberts, said:
“The NDA is committed to supporting the Caithness and North Sutherland area to develop a diverse economy – particularly as the Dounreay closure date drawers nearer.
“The extension of this contract for a further two years will enable the PAO to continue to grow – and as it does so this will bring more jobs and opportunities to the area.”
UKAEA’s Head of Pensions, Richard Stoneham, said:
“PAO is a vibrant, dynamic, growing business in Caithness. We value our existing client base and are therefore delighted that the NDA has recognised the quality of our service and commitment in administering the Combined Nuclear Pension Plan by choosing to extend the existing contract.
We look forward to continuing to work with them into the future.”
UKAEA Awarded New Ignalina Contract
Press Release
19 June 2009
UKAEA is leading a Joint Venture Consortium with selected companies in a major new contract for INPP, Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, in Lithuania. The contract, part of INPP’s flagship programme to decommission the Ignalina Unit 1 reactor, is to develop a plan for decommissioning the INPP’s Boiler House building. The open structure Boiler House currently contains a range of complex equipment, including vessels, pipelines, pumps, cables, estimated to represent some 4,600 cu m in volume.
Work on the contract commenced in May. UKAEA is leading the alliance of selected partners to deliver a collection of decommissioning studies, designs and documentation and to assist INPP in gaining the necessary licensing and authorisations to enable them to undertake the decommissioning work.
The UKAEA partners include SWECO civil and environmental expertise, IEEC, local engineering expertise and Ernst & Young, local project management.
RSC Radiochemistry and Waste Management Conference Attracts Young Audience
Press Release
8 June 2009
The inaugural Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) ‘Radiochemistry and Waste Management’ conference took place on the 2nd of June 2009, organised by UKAEA’s Dr Steve Black and Leanne Hodgson, also from the Young Generation Network (YGN). The event attracted over 75 expert delegates to the Sellafield visitors centre from the nuclear industry and the supply chain as well as local educational institutes, the Dalton Nuclear Institute and leading universities in the UK. The purpose of the event was to bring together two of the RSC interest groups in a joint conference covering aspects of analytical science, radiochemistry and waste management in a single event.
Michelle Wise, Head of Technical Services at UKAEA introduced the meeting and emphasised how encouraging it was to see so many younger scientists in the audience, many of whom were YGN members, “The event was particularly relevant to the members of the YGN as it demonstrated the variety of research work being carried out and the opportunities these represent to the gradates joining the industry today”
Chris Williams, YGN Chair echoed these sentiments commenting, “The seminar was a great success and it was pleasing to see so many young people in attendance, underlining the exciting research opportunities that exist to underpin the crucial decommissioning and waste management work that lies ahead. I hope to see similar events in the future.”
Professor Francis Livens of Manchester University and the academic director of the Dalton Institute, delivered the Keynote lecture entitled ‘Actinide Speciation and Behaviour in Natural and Engineered Environments.’ He described how the chemistry and biochemistry of an environment dictated the way that radionuclides would behave in terms of transport and sorption. Chris Williams YGN Chair, chaired the afternoon session introducing the graduate speaker, Dr Nick Evans of Loughborough University and industry speakers from both Sellafield and UKAEA.
The success of the conference was reflected in the comments from the delegates. Chris Mathieson, WVP Technical Support, at Sellafield Ltd commented, "It was interesting to see the radiochemistry research being performed in support of Sellafield operations. It was obvious that this will be an area of much further study in the future, particularly in the areas applicable to encapsulation technologies and groundwater flow."
Other speakers described a wide range of topics ranging from Medium Active and High Active analysis of radiochemical systems at Sellafield through novel waste encapsulation technologies, waste management and disposal techniques, to contaminated land cleanup. Speakers were present from UKAEA, Sellafield, Loughborough University, Manchester University and the Dalton Nuclear Institute.
CEO Joins UK Delegation to Vienna Safety Convention
Press Release
14 May 2009
Norman Harrison, UKAEA Chief Executive Officer, today joined the UK’s delegation, in Vienna for the third meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.
The only delegate from an operational nuclear body, Norman Harrison accompanied the Head of Nuclear Policy from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) along with representatives from the Health and Safety Executive, Environment Agency and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The UK’s third report on compliance with the obligations of the Joint Convention is being presented to the meeting by HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations and the Environment Agency’s Head of Radioactive Substances Regulations.
The objectives of the Joint Convention are:
-to achieve and maintain a high level of safety worldwide;
-to ensure that, during all stages of spent fuel and radioactive waste management, there are effective defences against potential hazards; and
-to prevent accidents with radiological consequences and to mitigate their consequences, should they occur at any stage of spent fuel or radioactive waste management.
The exchange of national reports enables participants to learn from each other’s solutions to common and individual safety problems and contributes to safety levels worldwide.
UKAEA Ltd IT Team Outsourced to CSC
Press Release
8 May 2009
UKAEA Ltd has not only ensured future IT services meet its growing business needs but has also secured the future of its IT team through the successful outsourcing of its IT services to CSC, following a competitive exercise. This transfer means that staff within the IT services team will both continue in their jobs and will have access to new development opportunities working as part of the global IT services and solutions company CSC.
The 39-strong team, based mainly at Harwell in Oxfordshire and Dounreay in Caithness, provided IT services to the UKAEA group and to the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA). From 1 May 2009, services will be provided by CSC under separate contracts with the CNPA and with the different UKAEA companies – UKAEA Ltd, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL), Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL) and the UK Atomic Energy Authority itself.
Throughout the competition process the staff and their futures were a key priority for UKAEA and this was reflected in the criteria defined for potential partners. This is of particular importance in Caithness and reinforces UKAEA’s commitment to developing jobs and opportunities, bringing socio economic benefits to the area.
With its restructuring into separate companies, the UKAEA recognised that the continuing in-house provision of IT services in the long term was unrealistic. A strategic review concluded in mid-2008 that outsourcing provided the best option for the future and a competitive exercise was initiated in October.
Commenting on the arrangements, UKAEA CEO Norman Harrison said “This is an excellent outcome to the constructive competitive dialogue between ourselves and CSC. It provides a sound basis for future IT services to a changing UKAEA, and it also retains the skills and expertise of our experienced team, while giving them opportunities to develop in a wider commercial environment.”
CEO Appointed to Nuclear Liabilities Board
Press Release
2 April 2009
Norman Harrison, CEO, has been appointed a member of the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board (NLFAB).
The Board, under the chairmanship of Lady Balfour of Burleigh, will scrutinise the plans for the decommissioning and clean up of nuclear waste from new nuclear power stations. The appointment is one of six announced by the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Mike O'Brien.
