Babcock has been awarded a contract by Magnox for an intermediate level waste (ILW) retrieval and processing project, at the Berkeley site.

The project is placed under the Magnox ILW Management Programme, for which a framework contract was awarded to Babcock by Magnox earlier this year.

Under this contract Babcock will be undertaking ILW retrieval and processing of the Fuel Element Debris (FED) from the Active Waste Vault 2 (AWV2) at Magnox's Berkeley site in Gloucestershire, in preparation for packaging into containers by Magnox in line with the strategy for safe, long-term storage. The circa £14 million total project will take around four years to complete.

Key areas to be addressed include the FED waste retrieval from Vault 2 and the waste transfer module which will facilitate the transport of the waste to the sorting module, where the low level waste (LLW) and ILW level wastes can be separated. The waste can then be prepared for packaging in containers. The initial contracted phase involves concept design through to completion of the engineering design. Phase two will include the detail design, manufacture, integrated works testing, installation and inactive and active commissioning. Once the equipment has been formally accepted the third and final phase of the project will cover the operation of the installed plant to remove the FED waste, and carry out the sorting and packaging into the appropriate containers.

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Babcock has gained an in-depth knowledge of the waste streams produced at each of the Magnox stations during generation, and the historically stored wastes following cessation of generation.

Babcock Business Manager for Magnox Gary Ward said: "Babcock has unrivalled expertise in this domain and extensive experience of working within the nuclear industry, backed by a large professional SQEP workforce coupled with an excellent safety record and safety and quality management systems. Our team, including key suppliers, has both the expertise and breadth of technical capabilities to cover all the skill sets required for this contract, as well as the facilities to fabricate, assemble and works test the modules identified in our solutions. This plus our collaborative culture and way of working with our clients - working closely with them to understand their drivers and constraints and align our own with them to ensure mutual success - are among the key strengths we will be bringing to this project."

(CD)