Balfour Beatty joint venture unveils new plant to support clean-up at Sellafield

The Silos Maintenance Facility will house and maintain the machinery that will remove the waste from two of the oldest plants on site.

Awarded in 2014, the £250 million contract saw Sellafield Ltd, Balfour Beatty and Cavendish Nuclear work together to design, construct, install and test the Silos Maintenance Facility.

Following a nine year construction period, the new Silos Maintenance Facility will host critical machinery in the nuclear decommissioning process and ensures it can be maintained in a safe, secure environment.

The nuclear site is moving into a 100 year programme of environmental remediation, accelerating the decommissioning of old facilities and moving the waste into safe containment for centuries to come.

Iain Wilson, Director of Nuclear at Balfour Beatty, said: “The completion of the Silos Maintenance Facility represents a significant milestone, integral to Sellafield’s long-term waste retrieval hazard reduction programme.

“From the initial design phase through to completion, we have applied our expertise to provide a fully integrated solution which will ensure the safe and secure operation of the Sellafield nuclear site for centuries to come.”

Chris Halliwell, Head of the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo for Sellafield Ltd said: “Getting this new facility ready is a huge success story for the Sellafield clean-up mission.

“It will play an important role in the UK’s hazard reduction programme and is testament to the collaboration between Sellafield Ltd and our supply chain partners, Balfour Beatty and Cavendish Nuclear.

“Not only was the project delivered to time and budget but it also has an impeccable safety record, to have had five and a half years without an accident on a construction site of this scale is no mean feat.

“Congratulations to all those who have played their part and those who will safely operate the plant as it makes Sellafield safer, sooner.”For further information please click here or watch an in-depth video click here.