UK NDA’S BOARD TO DECIDE ON FUTURE OF SELLAFIELD CONTRACT THIS WEEK

The future of the Sellafield contract will likely be decided at the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s Board of Directors meeting this week. The NDA is currently completing its review of the initial five-year period of URS-led Nuclear Management Partners’ contract to run the site, which will will inform its decision to extend the contract or make changes. NMP and the NDA’s management of Sellafield have fallen under scrutiny in recent months following critical reports, which have sparked some calls for contract changes. The contract will be a topic at the NDA’s Sept. 25 Board meeting. The Board’s decision must then be approved by the U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the NDA expects to announce a path forward in the first week of October. NMP, composed of URS, Amec and AREVA, has managed Sellafield since 2008 as owner of the site license company Sellafield, Ltd, under a contract that could potentially run up to 17 years if extensions are granted.