Amentum managed the successful delivery of the Plutonium Contaminated Material (PCM) Decommissioning Programme at the Low Level Waste Repository site (LLWR), including the decommissioning and demolition of five contaminated magazines and seven support facilities. The programme was undertaken from 2013 to 2019 and was valued at £100 million. The magazines held PCM generated from operations across the UK (including Sellafield) during the 1950s and 1960s.
The strategy was defined by Amentum with input from UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and focused on a safe and accelerated delivery schedule based on lessons learned and continuous improvement; challenging current practices to deliver improvements; and maintaining LLWR’s reputation as an industry leader.
Our vision centered on the formation of an Integrated Project Team (LLWR and Supply Chain), delivering a single way of working. Cultural and behavioural values focused on actively taking time out to concentrate on forward-planning; being unified to deliver common messages; and seeking support when needed.
The completion of the PCM Decommissioning Programme honoured a long-term commitment to the local community that the legacy facilities would be decommissioned and demolished.
Project Highlights
- Decommissioned and decontaminated 5 highly active magazines and 7 support buildings
- Agreed flexible safety case permissioning strategy with nuclear regulator ONR, to accelerate the schedule and simplify approvals
- Completed 10 year programme in 6, shaving 4 years off the schedule
- Saved the UK taxpayer £20million.
- Introduced innovative working pattern to increase productivity by 215%
- Performed 11,000 air-fed-suit entries, equaling 400,000 entry manhours
- Achieved no lost time in accidents throughout the entire programme