Studsvik secures major UK decommissioning contract

Studsvik has secured a major decommissioning project at the Sellafield site in Cumbria. Studsvik has been awarded an early mobilisation contract to provide to design and build a new facility to manage waste associated with a Sellafield waste facility. The current contract is valued at GBP 2 million for the next three months pending main contract award. The overall expected contract value to Studsvik will exceed GBP 14 million over two years.

Under the existing framework contract with Sellafield's Tier 1 contractor British Nuclear Group, Studsvik has received an initial contract to mobilise. The main contract will be finalised during May 2007, subject to formal signing at that time. The full contract will be undertaken under a target price arrangement with management fee and is valued at GBP 14 million, over two years.

"This is a significant win for Studsvik in the emerging UK decommissioning market. It demonstrates the confidence which British Nuclear Group places in Studsvik to deliver this key project," comments Magnus Groth, CEO of Studsvik AB.

"This project together with our other success in the UK market sees a significant growth in the size of our business in the UK" says Mark Lyons, President of Studsvik UK Limited.

The facility was constructed in 1951, and has been used to house the interim storage of beta/gamma waste into eight shielded cells. The facility ceased to receive waste from 1996.

Studsvik will build a new Waste Retrieval Facility over the eight cells. Waste will be retrieved from the cells and volume reduced before the waste is placed into liners for disposal as either ILW or LLW (Intermediate or Low Level Waste).

British Nuclear Group is the Tier 1 Contractor responsible to the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for the operation, maintenance and clean-up of the Sellafield site. Current and previous activities on the site include nuclear power generation, spent fuel reprocessing, waste storage and treatment.