The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a
non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...
of the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prim ...
, formed by the
Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the
Department of Trade and Industry. It came into existence during late 2004, and took on its main functions on 1 April 2005. Its purpose is to deliver the
decommissioning and clean-up of the
UK's civil nuclear legacy in a safe and cost-effective manner, and where possible to accelerate programmes of work that reduce hazard. The NDA does not directly manage the UK's nuclear sites. It oversees the work through contracts with specially designed companies known as site licence companies. The NDA determines the overall strategy and priorities for managing decommissioning.
Although the NDA itself employs about 250 staff, its subsidiaries employ about 15,000 staff across the NDA estate.
Its annual budget is £3.2billion, the vast majority of which is spent through contracts with site licence companies, who also subcontract to other companies which provide special services. The NDA aims to do this by introducing innovation and contractor expertise through a series of competitions similar to the model that has been used in the United States.
In April 2017, the NDA lost a legal case in the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
regarding the
procurement
Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or s ...
of a sizeable contract for the decommissioning of twelve different
Magnox nuclear facilities when EnergySolutions EU (now called ATK Energy EU) challenged a decision in connection with ATK's unsuccessful bid. In February 2018 Parliament's
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concluded that the NDA had "dramatically under-estimated" costs and "completely failed" in the procurement and management of the
Magnox Ltd contract, which was one of the highest value contracts let by the government. An independent inquiry into the deal was set up.
Activities
Objectives
The main objectives of NDA are to:
*eliminate site hazards and develop waste solutions;
*ensure the highest standards in safety, security and environmental management;
*build an effective world class industry;
*gain full approval and support from stakeholders (employees, contractors, government, local communities and general public); and
*make best use of assets and maximise value-for-money.
Structure
Responsibility for operating the sites has been restructured into five site licence companies (SLC). Management of the SLCs is contracted out to different parent body organisations (PBO), some of which were initially owned by private companies.
*
Sellafield Ltd was previously
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a manufacturer of nuclear fuel (notably MOX), ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel (main ...
's British Nuclear Group subsidiary. It comprises the
Sellafield
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuc ...
nuclear chemical facility and
Calder Hall
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuc ...
. It also previously managed the
Capenhurst uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
enrichment plant, which is now owned by
Urenco
The Urenco Group is a British-German-Dutch nuclear fuel consortium operating several uranium enrichment plants in Germany, the Netherlands, United States, and United Kingdom. It supplies nuclear power stations in about 15 countries, and stat ...
. Its PBO was formerly Nuclear Management Partners Ltd, a consortium of
URS,
Amec Foster Wheeler and
Areva. However, Sellafield Ltd has been under the direct control of the NDA since April 2016.
*
Magnox Ltd previously two separate site licence companies), manages ten
Magnox nuclear power stations and the
Harwell and
Winfrith facilities. It comprises
Chapelcross,
Hunterston A,
Trawsfynydd,
Wylfa and
Oldbury (previously Magnox North) and
Berkeley,
Bradwell,
Dungeness A,
Hinkley Point A and
Sizewell A (previously Magnox South). Its PBO was formerly Cavendish Fluor Partnership, a consortium of
Babcock International and
Fluor. Magnox Ltd has been a subsidiary of the NDA since September 2019.
*Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) comprises the
Dounreay site. Until March 2021, its PBO was Cavendish Dounreay Partnership, a consortium of
Babcock International,
CH2M Hill and
URS. It is now directly managed by the NDA.
*LLW Repository comprises the
Low Level Waste Repository near
Drigg
Drigg is a village situated in the civil parish of Drigg and Carleton on the West Cumbria coast of the Irish Sea and on the boundary of the Lake District National Park in the Borough of Copeland in the county of Cumbria, England.
Drigg and Ca ...
in Cumbria. Until July 2021, its PBO was UK Nuclear Waste Management, a consortium of
URS,
Studsvik,
Areva and
Serco
Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...
. It is now a subsidiary of the NDA.
*Springfields Fuels comprises the
Springfields nuclear fuel production facility near Preston, Lancashire. Its PBO is
Westinghouse Electric Company, a subsidiary of
Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...
.
On its creation, the NDA also took over ownership of
Direct Rail Services, the rail
freight operating company set up by BNFL in 1995 to transport nuclear materials; and
International Nuclear Services, which operates services on behalf of the NDA for the management and transportation of nuclear fuels. Both have since merged to become Nuclear Transport Solutions.
The NDA is also the owner of Radioactive Waste Management (RWM), which is responsible for implementing a
geological disposal facility in the UK and provide
radioactive waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapon ...
management solutions.
In February 2017, a national archive for the UK civil nuclear industry, named Nucleus, was opened in
Wick, Caithness, Scotland.
Costs
In 2005, the cost of decommissioning these sites was planned at £55.8billion, with Sellafield requiring £31.5billion.
However, in 2006, the NDA reported that the cost of cleaning up existing waste was higher than previously thought, and gave a new estimated decommissioning cost of about £72billion over a 100-year period.
In 2008, estimated decommissioning costs increased to £73.6billion, or after taking account of
discount rates, £44.1billion. A 2006 estimate foresaw £14billion of offsetting income from reprocessing fuel at
Sellafield
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuc ...
.
In 2009, the NDA sold land near three existing reactor sites for expected new nuclear power stations, for over £200million.
In 2013, a critical
Public Accounts Committee report stated that the private consortium managing Sellafield has failed to reduce costs and delays. Between 2005 and 2013, the annual costs of operating Sellafield increased from £900 million to about £1.6billion. The estimated lifetime
undiscounted cost of dealing with the Sellafield site increased to £67.5billion.
Bosses were forced to apologise after projected clean-up costs passed the £70billion mark in late 2013. In 2014, the undiscounted decommissioning cost estimate for Sellafield was increased to £79.1billion, and by 2015 to £117.4billion.
The annual operating cost will be £2billion in 2016.
In 2018, the
discount rate used in evaluating future spending was changed from a
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government ...
determined real terms discount rate to a rate that combined a nominal discount rate and an implied inflation rate based on
Consumer Price Index forecasts. This nearly halved the estimate of the remaining cost of decommissioning and clean-up.
National Nuclear Laboratory
In 2006, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced his support for a
National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) to be based on the British Technology Centre at Sellafield and Nexia Solutions.
Alistair Darling announces the formation of the National Nuclear Laboratory
, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (30/06/06). The NDA, as the owner of Sellafield site and the funder of majority of research required across the nuclear estate, was involved establishing the NNL in 2009. The NNL complements other initiatives to develop a sustainable workforce such as the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) network, including the development of Energus in West Cumbria, alongside complementary research and development facilities such as the Dalton Nuclear Institute.
References
External links
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{{authority control
Energy in the United Kingdom
Nuclear waste companies
Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government
Radioactive waste repositories
Nuclear research institutes
Nuclear regulatory organizations
2004 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 2004
2004 establishments in England
Waste companies established in 2004
British companies established in 2004