News & Events
NUKEM retains its Programme Management of work in NW Russia and Kazakhstan
23 June 2006
On Friday 23 June, NUKEM signed contracts with the DTI to continue the management of the UK’s FSU Nuclear Legacy Programme in NW Russia and Kazakhstan as part of the UK’s commitment to the G8 Global Partnership. This includes the management of five programme areas covering the storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) at Andreeva Bay; Submarine Dismantling; Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC); Mayak SNF Store projects in NW Russia; and the BN-350 Fast Reactor decommissioning support at Aktau, Kazakhstan.
NUKEM’s Programme Director for the contracts, David Field, expressed his delight at retaining the contracts, “We are extremely pleased to be able to build on the work that we have been doing since 2002. We have developed excellent relationships both with our colleagues within the DTI and the numerous organisations involved in the programme. We have an excellent team of Consultants within NUKEM and they are totally committed to continuing to meet the set deliverables.”
NUKEM’s contracts were awarded following competitive tender and form part of the total DTI programme valued at some £32m per annum. This is part of the UK’s commitment to the Global Partnership programme to tackle threats posed by nuclear material proliferation across the states of the Former Soviet Union. The contracts cover the management and development of the range of nuclear non-proliferation programmes funded by the UK in the FSU over the next four years.
Put together, these contracts represent the UK’s largest WMD non-proliferation programme. Over the past four years the UK has played a leading role in driving forward the Global Partnership programme with committed expenditure of over £100m to enhance nuclear safety and security across the FSU. Much progress has been made, but major challenges still require attention and today’s announcement will set the framework for the UK to play a leading role in this work over the coming years.
The scale of WMD programmes in the Soviet Union at the time of the cold war has left a legacy which demands international attention, especially in view of the increased international terrorist threat. These new contracts are a demonstration of the UK’s commitment to tackling that threat. Together the contracts will focus on work in the priority areas of safety and security of spent nuclear fuel in NW Russia, enhancements to physical protection of nuclear facilities across the FSU and programmes to assist in redirection of former nuclear weapons scientists and technicians in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.