Tender Process Under Way For Dounreay LLW Facility
Written by NucNet
Thursday, 08 April 2010
Companies are being invited to express interest in tendering for the design and construction of a low-level waste disposal facility from the decommissioning of the UK’s Dounreay nuclear site and the adjacent Vulcan submarine test propulsion facility.
The total cost of the project, including operation and closure, is expected to be in the region of 110 million pounds (167 million US dollars, 125 million euro).
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, which is responsible for the closure programme at Britain’s former centre of fast reactor research and development in Scotland, has published a contract notice.
DSRL said the notice marks the start of the procurement process for the design and build of the first two vaults, with options for later phases. Each vault will measure approximately 80 by 45 metres, with a depth of approximately 20 metres.
The contract is planned to begin in April 2011, with construction due to start within 12 months and the first waste due for disposal by 2014. A site next to the former fast reactor research establishment was for the facility identified following public consultation and planning permission granted in 2009.
It is estimated the decommissioning of Dounreay and the Vulcan nuclear site could generate up to 175,000 m3 of solid LLW.
The waste comes from the clean-out and dismantling of redundant reactors and research facilities.
