Dounreay site chief defends clean-up costs
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Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd managing director Roger Hardy this week claimed the Babcock Dounreay Partnership did not underestimate the cost of the operation by charging the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority £1.6 billion to achieve its aim within 11 years.
The consortium was chosen as the preferred bidder by the NDA when it agreed to carry out the job for almost £800 million less than its nearest competitor.
Mr Hardy has been questioned about whether it will be possible to achieve the finishing date with such a low budget.
But he said it is constantly looking at ways of completing operations quicker and by spending less money.
“We are reviewing all overhead costs to find smarter ways of working,” he said.
“This will free up money that can be redirected to projects to accelerate decommissioning work.
“Innovation is a word you’ll hear me talking about, and it’s how we’ll deliver what we’ve promised the customer, the NDA.
“I’ve signed a contract that says we’ll close down this site in 2023 for £1.6 billion and people are sceptical.
“Quality happens when safety, efficiency and delivery come together.
“Sometimes we get one or two of those in the mix that makes up our daily work but we will need all three working together if we are to hit our target.”
Mr Hardy said that through its innovative methods, Dounreay has the opportunity to prove it can become the leader in nuclear clean-up in Europe.
“It will require creative thinking, the ability to take a task and think through how we can get there sooner, for less money, and still not cause harm to anyone or anything in the process,” he said.
“Creative thinking yields innovation, new and smarter ways to do things and it’s how we improve on everything we do.
“It’s a team effort, the mix of experience and ideas arriving from other sites with the knowledge, skills and creative abilities of the people already here.”
At a meeting of the Dounreay Stakeholder Group in Thurso in May, Mr Hardy announced the end date for the project as September 14, 2023.
By then all redundant facilities need to be flattened and the waste sorted, segregated and made safe for the long term.
Babcock was formally awarded the contract to manage the decommissioning, demolition and clean-up of the Dounreay site, having officially taken ownership of DSRL in April.
