UK launches consolidated radwaste organisation

In January last year, the NDA announced its intention to create a single waste division to bring together its group-wide waste management expertise enabling it "to grow capability, simplify how we operate and deliver greater value for the taxpayer."

NDA is responsible for the management, decommissioning and clean-up of 17 nuclear sites across the UK. Nuclear Waste Services will oversee the group's integrated waste programme.

The new business will maintain its current commitments to the low-level waste repository and to the geological disposal facility programme and the communities involved with both. "It also creates a business with new capability to manage UK nuclear waste safely and securely for generations to come," the UK government said.

"Nuclear Waste Services will build on work delivered over many decades, while adding more essential services for customers in the nuclear energy, defence, industrial, medical and research sectors."

Nuclear Waste Services will be led by CEO Corhyn Parr, formerly NDA's Director of Integrated Waste, and Board Chair Adriènne Kelbie.

"Our new organisation brings together a huge amount of expertise and capability in dealing with radioactive waste across the UK," said Parr.

"Working together, our focus is to secure a safer future for us all, with an enhanced service to waste producers that supports the most appropriate and joined-up approach to waste management in the UK. By working more closely together we can enable better decision-making and help identify opportunities that can deliver wider benefits like earlier risk reduction at decommissioning sites or greater efficiency and lower costs to the taxpayer."

NDA group CEO David Peattie added: "The creation of Nuclear Waste Services also underlines our One NDA approach to working more collaboratively and efficiently to clean up the UK’s earliest civil nuclear sites."

In February 2021, the NDA launched specialist nuclear transport organisation Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), which now operates Direct Rail Services and Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, which offer rail and shipping services, respectively. NTS's primary objective will be to support the NDA mission through a range of activities including transporting used advanced gas-cooled reactor fuel from UK power plants to Sellafield, moving irradiated fuels from Dounreay, returning reprocessing products to customers overseas, and packaging and licensing support to the NDA group.