Sellafield Ltd is a

nuclear decommissioning Nuclear decommissioning is the process whereby a nuclear facility is dismantled to the point that it no longer requires measures for radiation protection. The presence of radioactive material necessitates processes that are potentially occupa ...

Site Licence Company (SLC) controlled by the

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the Department ...

(NDA), a government body set up specifically to deal with the nuclear legacy under the Energy Act 2004. From 2008–2016, it was operated under licence from the NDA by a third party Parent Body Organisation called Nuclear Management Partners (NMP). Since the termination of the NMP contract it has been brought back under direct governmental control by making it a subsidiary of the NDA. Sellafield Ltd's main aim is to manage the decommissioning of the

Sellafield Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuc ...

facility in Cumbria, England, on behalf of the NDA. The company employs more than 13,000 workers and its focus is to deliver accelerated nuclear decommissioning and clean-up programmes. It is also involved in nuclear fuel production and reprocessing, and international nuclear decommissioning and transportation.

History

Sellafield Ltd was formed out of the remains of British Nuclear Group (BNG), a subsidiary of

British Nuclear Fuels Ltd British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a manufacturer of nuclear fuel (notably MOX), ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel (main ...

(BNFL). BNG was created from a reorganisation of BNFL in 2005, bringing together all of BNFL's businesses into one unit, with the exception of

Nexia Solutions The National Nuclear Laboratory (informally NNL, formerly Nexia Solutions) is a UK government owned and operated nuclear services technology provider covering the whole of the nuclear fuel cycle. It is fully customer-funded and operates at six ...

and

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...

. It was BNFL's initial intention in 2006 to sell BNG whole as one business, however it was later decided to break up BNG and sell each asset individually to maximise revenue. Consequently, BNG's US subsidiary (BNG America), its

Magnox Magnox is a type of nuclear power/production reactor that was designed to run on natural uranium with graphite as the moderator and carbon dioxide gas as the heat exchange coolant. It belongs to the wider class of gas-cooled reactors. The n ...

reactor business (Reactor Sites Management Company), its consultancy business (BNG Project Services), and its one third share in

Atomic Weapons Establishment The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...

management company (AWE Management Ltd) were all sold individually. The remaining business of BNG was made responsible for the decommissioning work at

. This was renamed Sellafield Ltd and ownership was passed to the

(NDA). In 2008 the NDA contracted the management of Sellafield Ltd to Nuclear Management Partners Ltd, a consortium of US company URS, British company

AMEC Amec Foster Wheeler plc was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. In October 2017, it was acquired by Wood Group. It was focused on the Oil, Gas & Chemicals, ...

, and

Areva Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...

of France. The initial contract was for five years, with an extension option for 17 years. In 2016, the NDA took Sellafield Ltd back under direct control from Nuclear Management Partners, by making the company a subsidiary of the NDA. The NDA owns the Sellafield site and its liabilities, and owns all of the shares in Sellafield Ltd, which is responsible for the safe and secure operation and management of the site.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Nuclear technology companies of the United Kingdom Nuclear waste companies 2005 establishments in England Waste companies established in 2005 British companies established in 2005