Well quiet is an understatement for the industry right now! I get that budgets have gone up and supply chain spend is going to be more, but when is that going to happen? The supply chain is buckling beneath them as having no work is not sustainable. Redundancies are at an all-time high, businesses are closing offices and pulling out of the industry whilst other SME's are having sleepless nights worrying if their business is sustainable in the current climate! – I however remain optimistic and think that come September / October time Sellafield are going to go "Shit we have this money to spend and we haven't spent it – let's start putting contracts out". Then Tier 2's will get busy which will filter to the 3's and 4's and we will recruit all the exceptional individuals they will need to deliver the projects.
So other than hearing how companies are struggling there isn't much news. You probably already know that the DDP contract is having its value cut. From my understanding it is only going to be worth 25% – 30% of the original value - that is a huge blow to companies that have spent hours on the bid for the work.
Sellafield
Strategic Partner
Sellafield are continuing to work to formulate the proposition and strategic need for the market enhanced Site Licence Company concept.
They have consulted widely both within the business and also externally with the Supply Chain. During the consultation they have benchmarked their developing requirement against other collaborative relationships which exist both with the public and private sectors.
The next steps involve their executive team further refining the proposition and adding the detail of how the new arrangements will operate in practice.
Following completion of the necessary governance steps both internal and external, they anticipate engaging the Supply Chain in technical dialogue in the autumn.
Strike in Pay Row
Nearly 400 Sellafield workers are to go on strike in a row over pay.
The GMB announced that the action is being taken on July 28 by the 388 health physics monitors who work at Sellafield.
The action has been called as a row over pay (through a regrading system) rumbles on.
The union says problems with the monitors' pay have been running for at least 15 years. Health physics monitors assess radiological conditions to provide appropriate safety and advice to safeguard personnel, plant and environment.
The GMB union, which represents the workers, has been in talks with Sellafield management for a couple of years. Matters have reached a head, the union says, after all parties thought that an agreement had been reached to settle the issues.
GMB senior organiser Chris Jukes said: "Initially the monitors received an uplift in their grade which led to a major problem with the recognition agreement on site".
"Subsequent re-negotiations led to what we understood to be a situation that could lead to an increase in monitor take home pay. However, in subsequent discussions around criteria for progression to a new rate of pay, it became clear to workplace representatives that there would be an unknown number of monitors benefiting from changes".
"Management subsequently refused to elaborate on their views of the criteria or the number of post holders who would go up in grades. The situation escalated when management refused to negotiate further."
More than 83% of the monitors took part in a ballot for industrial action on July 6. They voted overwhelmingly - almost 98% - in support of taking action.
Mr Jukes said: "It is a crying shame that we have reached this position and there is huge frustration at the complete inertia that exists within the Sellafield culture and the lack of willingness by management to negotiate openly, transparently and with a view to the future."
A statement from Sellafield Ltd said: "The site will continue to be managed safely and securely throughout any action, and the GMB have offered us an assurance that agreed minimum safety manning levels will be maintained throughout any period of action.
"The dispute centres on a fundamental difference of understanding of an agreement by the company to reward a number of health physics monitors who display particular skills and behaviours. The principle that some of those individuals are entitled to further reward is not in contention – the dispute lies in the interpretation of the criteria for further payment".
"Our position is absolutely clear – the principle of offering any level of payment is to further reward those whose work merits further reward."
Nuclear Safety Compromised.
I came across the following article on Thursday:
"Inspectors have demanded action at Sellafield after it was revealed nuclear safety had been compromised".
Officials found a failure to follow Operating Instructions at the Magnox Reprocessing Separation Plant that has resulted in safety breaches.
The report by ONR stated although no harm or release of radioactivity occurred, these incidents "compromised" nuclear safety. It said the site was proactive in identifying some of the problems but it was "necessary" to issue the Improvement Notice, which must be complied with by September 30 next year.
An inspector said: "The main area of concern was a failure to follow Operating Instructions, which are measures in place to keep the plant safe. Although no harm or release of radioactivity occurred, these incidents compromised nuclear safety."
There were 14 occasions in 2014 where safety limits and conditions were breached in the Magnox Reprocessing Separation plant. Bosses have pledged to improve the "shortfalls" with a programme developed prior to the Improvement Notice being served.
An ONR Spokesman added: "Sellafield Ltd acknowledges the importance of good conduct of operations and was already developing a programme of improvements prior to this Improvement Notice being served. ONR welcomes this strong commitment to improve standards at the Magnox Reprocessing Separation Plant."
A Sellafield Ltd spokeswoman said: "We have acknowledged these concerns and have implemented an improvement programme to rectify them. The ONR has welcomed our commitment to this piece of work. At no point were there any adverse effects to our workforce, the general public or the environment."
Sellafield Ltd was served with an Improvement Notice by the Office for Nuclear Regulation yesterday because of a number of incidents at a reprocessing plant on the site."
My personal opinion is this isn't a big deal and this will no doubt be used against Sellafield by the anti nuc's who have no real understanding of the industry.
BBC Four Goes Nuclear Season
So I am really excited that cameras are being allowed behind the scenes at Sellafield.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili will present Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield and aim to tell the story of the country's often controversial nuclear industry.
The show, part of the BBC Four Goes Nuclear season, promises "unprecedented access to some of the country's most secret buildings" and examination of incidents including the 1957 fire at the site and subsequent controversy over radioactive leaks.
Other programmes include a Storyville documentary about the atomic age using archive footage and complete with a score by Mogwai and a film about the men and women who built the first atomic bomb in the dying days of World War Two.
BBC Four's channel editor Cassian Harrison said: "BBC Four Goes Nuclear will give our audiences a chance to contemplate the history and the extraordinary potential of our nuclear age. We have unique access to Britain's most renowned nuclear facility with the documentary Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield, alongside other captivating new and archive programmes for the channel. BBC Four Goes Nuclear will consider the nuclear age from all sides - its ground-breaking opportunities as well as its terrifying dangers."
The Sellafield programme is an hour long and should be aired on the 10th August at 9pm. Here is the synopsis:
Lying on the remote northwest coast of England is one of the most controversial places in Britain: the nuclear facility known as Sellafield. In this one-off documentary, BBC Four have been given unprecedented access to some of the country's most secret buildings, revealing the extraordinary experiments, the jaw-dropping technology, and the costly science behind Britain's attempts to harness the power of the atom.
Nuclear physicist Jim Al-Khalili uncovers the story of Sellafield: from the headlong rush to develop nuclear weapons and nuclear power to terrifying accidents, like the Windscale fire and leaks of radioactive material into the sea; from public opposition to the latest reprocessing techniques.
Jim examines the ways waste and spent fuel rods have been stored here over the last 70 years and the latest attempts to try and clean some of it up, from storage in vast open air ponds to encasing pieces of old reactors in concrete blocks. Jim looks at the latest efforts and considers whether, 65 years on, we are any closer to a solution to the problem of nuclear waste.
And throughout the programme, Jim will conduct his own experiments, demonstrating the scientific discoveries that lie at the heart of Britain's journey into the nuclear age.
I will be on holiday but I will definitely be videoing it (How old am I – does anyone even have video's anymore?) and watching it with interest on my return.
NDA
A webinar sharing session has provided valuable feedback to researchers, businesses and sites involved in a series of innovative projects focused on nuclear decommissioning and waste.
Innovate UK, the NDA and DECC are funding the collaborative R&D and feasibility studies, which are aimed at encouraging innovation in the civil nuclear fission power sector and developing a robust, innovative UK supply chain.
The research projects are being undertaken across the UK. They involve partnerships between supply chain businesses and nuclear sites.
In 2014, a competition by Innovate UK (with NDA and DECC) awarded funding support to help UK businesses benefit from the growing opportunities in all sectors of the nuclear industry, including power generation and decommissioning. The competition's priorities were to foster:
technology transfer sharing from other sectors and companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Last month, Innovate UK's Knowledge Transfer Network streamed decommissioning and waste management presentations from participating organisations. The audience included representatives from the Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning Research Forum (NWDRF). The presentations comprised of 5-minute project overviews, followed by a question and answer session. The live webcast meant that people could watch remotely and ask questions online. This provided feedback from technology end-users to the researchers as the projects progress. It was a good example of a knowledge-sharing event.
Presentation themes included:
- TRIBECA (TRItium detection By ElectroChemically Assisted radiometrics)
- Submersible treatment of pond waters
- Large-scale hot-isostatic pressing of waste forms for the treatment of Magnox sludge and other wastes
- DEnsification processing of a Ceramic MAtrix composite material for nuclear waste containment (DECMAN)
- High dynamic range spectroscopic radiation detectors
- SeeSnake
- In-Situ monitoring of tritium and carbon 14 in groundwater
- New techniques for the rapid characterisation of low-level waste and surface contamination
- Improving the decommissioning process with intelligent semantic building histories
- Novel system for localised, real-time radiometric measurements of ground water at civil nuclear sites
- SmartScan
- D:EEP : Estimating Entrained Products
- Pre-industrial research of horizontal sludge dredge
- Thermal treatment of irradiated graphite
- Flexible charged particle detector for nuclear decommissioning
- ELENDES II (Electrochemical Enhancement of Nuclear Decontamination Solutions)
- Plasma vitrification
Demolition paves way for magazines to go
A major skyline change is under way at the Low Level Waste (LLW) Repository.
Magazine 4's Retrieval Facility (MRF), a fixture at the site since the 1990s, has been safely demolished, setting the template for the future demolition of such facilities on site.
MRFs are purpose-built engineered facilities, constructed to allow the retrieval of Plutonium Contaminated Materials (PCM) from magazines before decommissioning and demolition could begin.
Carl Smith, PCM Senior Project Manager, said:
"This is the first of five remaining Magazine Retrieval Facilities to be demolished and we have proven the demolition method for the MRF. This will be reviewed as part of the post-project review to identify any improvements and efficiencies for the future demolition phases."
All remaining magazines on the site near Drigg will be demolished, in time, to make way for future vaults.
The soft strip, de-planting and removal of the cladding and portal frame is now complete for Magazine 4.
The first phase of demolition has now been completed, with soil removed from the top of the magazine structure, erection of an environmental barrier at the magazine entrance and the removal off site of all remaining waste.
All the demolition work has been recorded by four time-lapsed cameras located around the demolition site.
The magazines, or concrete bunkers, were constructed to store munitions such as TNT during World War II, when the site hosted a Royal Ordnance Factory.
PCM from Sellafield operations was later stored in some magazines and in the 1990s, retrieval facilities were built to enable the removal, packaging and transport of the waste for safe storage in modern, purpose-built facilities at Sellafield.
In 2008, LLWR started a programme of work to decommission the magazines.
NuGen
So it looks like NuGen are moving forward, although their engagement with SME's remains questionable. Good news:
NuGen announces land contract signed with Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
NuGen concludes site suitability investigations at Moorside and validates site selection for three reactors against recognised IAEA criteria Moorside will deliver 7% of the UK's future electricity needs Moorside development is Europe's largest new nuclear build - and part of the UK's northern powerhouse... Decision shows "commitment and intent" of shareholders Toshiba and ENGIE
NuGen will now take responsibility for the land following payment of an undisclosed sum to the NDA. The deal underpins the successful policy of selling NDA land to new nuclear developers – and creating value for the taxpayer.
The NuGen Board approved the land contract signing at a meeting in Tokyo. The company is now confident the site is suitable for construction of three AP1000® reactors, as all criteria were satisfied.
NuExec Consulting
Our new lady Sarah is settling in well and she has been lucky enough to have me actually in the office for the past couple of weeks. (Poor Lady) As with all businesses in the nuclear supply chain though things are very quiet, so if you are looking to recruit now is a really good time to get in touch and see what NuExec Consulting can do to support your business.
It Could Only Happen to Me!
So when I was at the Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago Alisha Dixon sang the national anthem. I absolutely loved her voice so I said to Stefan I would really like to go and see her live. As we drove home I logged on to google to see if she was touring and it just so happened that the Sunday just gone she was at Manchester at an event called Key Summer Live. She was alongside James Bay, Mark Ronson, Little Mix, Mr Probz, Lawson, Stereo Kicks and Ella Eyre. So I have to be honest I had no clue who half of them were but I knew I liked Alisha Dixon and Mark Ronson so I booked tickets for Stefan and I.
On the night we were both looking forward to the concert but as we approached the venue we noticed an incredibly large number of children and teenage girls. Maybe they are just waiting for signatures I reasoned with myself, I am sure it won't be full of kids at the concert. As we got closer and entered the queue we soon realised that we were without doubt the oldest people there without kids. I felt so embarrassed as we moved into the venue and followed all the excited children. We quickly made our way to our seats and tried to look inconspicuous. I noticed in the next block to us there was another childless couple but in fairness they were I would say in their late teens. As Stefan and I sat there writing out our food shopping list (we are so rock and roll) this man came over to us. "Hi I'm the morning presenter from Key 103 are you two here on your own" OMG I wanted my seat to swallow me. "Yes it's just us, I know we are a bit old." I stuttered. "Well how would you two like front row tickets?" "Well err well erm" "The answer you are looking for is yes! These are the best tickets in the house and I am giving them to you." The thing is I would love to have been front row but looking at all the kids around me it just didn't seem fair that us couple of biddies would take front row tickets that they could get. So I did the decent thing. "Thanks for the offer but how about you make the day of one of the little girls here and give the tickets to her and her Mum." "Are you sure these are the best tickets in the house?" "Yes let a child benefit." He walked away and I watched him go straight over the other couple, give them the tickets (they of course didn't offer them to a child) and see them rush to the front row. Now not only did they get the front row seats, they got a shout out, free ice cream and vouchers to a clothing website. I can't help feeling somewhat bitter and annoyed that I didn't do the right thing and say yes!
Until next time....