NDA unveils decommissioning roadmap

The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has published its latest strategy, setting out a long-term roadmap for the safe and secure decommissioning of the UK’s legacy nuclear sites. In total nearly 100 responses were received during the consultation period, from a variety of respondents including regulators, local authorities, NGOs, academics, supply chain organisations, operating companies, employees and members of the public, reflecting a broad range of perspectives.

This fifth strategy update builds on the foundation of the 2021 strategy and previous strategies, maintaining focus on the four strategic themes that underpin the decommissioning mission:

• Site decommissioning and remediation – dismantling redundant facilities and preparing land for future beneficial use.
• Used nuclear fuels – managing used fuel from first generation Magnox reactors and advanced gas-cooled reactors in line with UK policy through consolidation at Sellafield, safe, secure interim storage and preparing for disposal via a Geological Disposal Facility.
• Nuclear materials – delivering long-term plans for materials such as plutonium and uranium, originating from fuel enrichment, fabrication and reprocessing.
• Integrated waste management – ensuring consistent, safe handling of radioactive waste across the estate, prioritising waste reduction, reuse, recycling before considering disposal.

Critical enablers, such as research, innovation, people, transport, and cyber security support these strategic themes and are identified as being integral to creating conditions for mission success. The 184-page strategy, which was subject to extensive public consultation, sets out how the next phase of this mission will be delivered through greater integration and collaboration across the NDA group, sharper prioritisation and a continued focus on reducing the most significant hazards.

“This refreshed strategy continues to prioritise our core commitments to safety and environmental stewardship, while also reflecting how the operating environment and scope of our mission has evolved, including our integrated group model,” said NDA Group CEO David Peattie. “It will enable us to build on the progress we’ve made over the last 20 years and reaffirms our commitment to build a safer, cleaner future for the next generation.”

The Strategy sets the long-term direction for how the NDA carries out its functions under the Energy Act (2004). It also provides the context for government oversight by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and for public accountability.

Building on lessons learnt from early site management approaches, NDA has completed a move from a parent body organisation model to integrate its organisations into a One NDA subsidiary structure now known as the NDA group. While Sellafield Ltd remains unchanged by the One NDA model, NDA has created:

• Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) by bringing together Low Level Waste Repository Ltd (LLWR Ltd) and Radioactive Waste Management Ltd (RWM) and the integrated waste management portfolio;
• Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) by combining Magnox Ltd and Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd under one delivery organisation;
• Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) to unify transport capabilities.

NDA says operating under the new model has already realised many benefits, such as:

• Increased value for money for the taxpayer, with savings of £140m ($188.6m) a year by removing parent body organisation fees and £30m a year in group nuclear insurance;
• Enhanced performance and delivery, with Sellafield and Dounreay sharing best practice and learnings on decommissioning approaches for alpha, ponds and Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors;
• Improved stakeholder confidence, with the 2022 stakeholder survey showing marked improvements in perception of performance, transparency and leadership, and record small and medium enterprise engagement (34%) and common systems across the group;
• An improved culture, including career opportunities and increased mobility across the group afforded by the group leadership academy, graduate programme and talent pipeline;
• Strong organisational health, with a working group set up to share best practice in cyber capability and training, and the simpler structure saving £500,000 a year by having fewer boards.

The group is now overseen by a Group Leadership Team comprising the Chief Executive Officers of the four operating companies and NDA Executive Officers. “Closer working and collaboration at the highest level is filtering down to all levels, progressively changing our culture and creating a rewarding place to work. The new model has also opened wider change opportunities. For example, we are examining how best to integrate support functions and avoid duplication.”

The Strategy notes: “We must exploit the opportunities offered by our One NDA subsidiary model and prioritise expenditure against our strategic imperatives. We cannot decommission everything at once. Where we need to defer or slow the pace of decommissioning, we must ensure the safe stewardship of our sites and their facilities.”

It says the UK nuclear enterprise is undergoing significant change and growth. The progressive shutdown of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs), the creation of Great British Energy – Nuclear, and the expansion of the UK’s Defence Nuclear Enterprise marks a shift in national priorities. “We are aligning our activities with domestic energy security and defence commitments, exploiting synergies and ensuring effective coordination across government and industry…. We can only succeed by working collaboratively and engaging openly and transparently about our work.”

The UK’s nuclear legacy derives from pioneering research, reactor development and defence programmes initiated during and after the Second World War. From the first generation of commercial nuclear power stations to cutting-edge fuel-cycle facilities, these historic ventures have shaped current decommissioning challenge, which are among the most technically complex in the world. “Successive governments have introduced policies aimed at balancing energy security, environmental protection and national defence commitments. This has resulted in a diverse civil nuclear estate requiring long-term clean-up and remediation, spanning decades and costing approximately £98.5bn (2023/2024 figures).”

NDA has 17 sites: 14 in England and Wales and three in Scotland. Each operates under a site licence, with operating companies responsible for day-to-day operations and programme delivery. “Given the multi-decade timescales of our mission, we will continue our knowledge and records management practices so that critical information is preserved and available for future generations.”

The Strategy describes how NDA intends to meet ongoing and emerging challenges, including:

• Delivering tangible hazard reductions by intensifying high hazard risk reduction efforts and waste retrieval from the legacy ponds and silos at Sellafield – priority work that is technically complex and essential for reducing overall risk to the workforce, public and the environment;
• Maintaining public trust through open and transparent engagement with international, national, regional and local stakeholders;
• Embracing technical innovations, new ways of working and data-driven insights to improve efficiencies;
• Continuing to ensure sustainability is embedded through the strategy, ensuring that social, environmental and economic impacts are fully considered;
• Sustaining a pipeline of skills and talent in a competitive labour market and UK nuclear enterprise renaissance, to retain the specialist expertise needed for multidecade programmes;
• Continuing to work with DESNZ and other stakeholders to realise synergies between the NDA’s long-term mission and wider government policies.

A long-term solution for the most hazardous radioactive waste is being progressed by NWS through the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) programme using a consent-based siting process. By focussing on innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement, we aim to demonstrate that decommissioning is not merely about closing a chapter of the past, but also about creating future opportunities for our site communities, the economy and generations to come.

“As the UK’s nuclear industry evolves, we are playing a growing role in the wider UK nuclear enterprise, by supporting national priorities while remaining focussed on our primary mission. This includes offering access to some of our facilities for managing non-NDA liabilities, such as the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) and specific treatment and storage facilities at Sellafield. As we move forward, we will need to adapt to budget constraints determined through future government spending reviews. We aim to reduce the costs of decommissioning through approaches proportionate to the risks being managed and delicensing our sites where hazards are sufficiently low for proportionate regulatory control measures.

The Strategy has sections on: Site Decommissioning and Remediation; Safe stewardship; Decommissioning; Site end states; Estate use; Spent Fuel; Spent Oxide Fuel; Spent Magnox Fuel; Exotic Fuel; Vision and safeguards; Nuclear Materials; Plutonium; Uranium; Integrated Waste Management; Radioactive waste strategy; Liquid and gaseous discharges; and Non-radioactive waste.

Other sections deal with: NDA in the UK nuclear enterprise; Non-NDA liabilities; Strategic adviser to government; and Enabling broader UK policy objectives; Critical Enablers; Health, safety and wellbeing; Environment; Security and resilience; Cyber security; Research, development and innovation; People; Asset management and continuous improvement; Commercial and supply chain; Information governance; Socio-economics; Digital data and artificial intelligence; Public and stakeholder engagement; Transport and logistics; and International relations.