The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

21 March 2011

The UK Government and the Scottish Ministers have approved our new Strategy. This statutory document sets the direction for delivering the nuclear clean-up programme.

The NDA was set up to establish a detailed understanding of the challenges faced in cleaning up the UK's civil nuclear legacy sites and to oversee a safe and effective programme of delivery.

Lord Marland, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Energy and Climate Change, said:

"Tackling the nuclear legacy is an absolute priority. I am keen to see it dealt with vigorously." 

"It is fundamental that we tackle this legacy rather than leave it to future generations. As such I thoroughly endorse this Strategy and the work being done by the NDA."

Stephen Henwood, NDA Chairman said:

"We have a coherent Strategy, and a high level of support from Government to tackle what is a complex legacy dating back in some cases to the 1940's and 50's. We have restructured the industry to bring in private sector partners to improve delivery, and we have extracted value from our assets including the sale of land adjacent to our sites to new nuclear developers. I am increasingly confident about the credibility of the plans in place across the estate and our focus is now firmly on their efficient delivery."  

Tony Fountain, NDA Chief Executive said:

"Our Strategy provides us with a clear view of our 10 to 20 year priorities and the scope of work across our 19 sites. The NDA is a small strategic authority; key to our success is translating strategy into clear plans and selecting the right delivery partners to execute them efficiently. We are seeing the best international contractors competing for UK business and in so doing building UK supply chain capability for the future."

"Hazard reduction is our absolute priority and that is why we are prioritising our resources to tackle our most challenging facilities."

"We are also pursuing an 'optimised programme' for the decommissioning of the I0 Magnox sites - the first generation of electricity producing reactors - with accelerated progress at two 'lead sites', Trawsfynydd and Bradwell. At other sites innovative solutions to tackle specific issues will be trialled and best practice shared, bringing forward the overall timescales and reducing costs."

"Other significant challenges are around the effective management of nuclear materials and waste. We need to utilise our current and planned infrastructure more effectively to deal with the growing amounts of waste generated by the decommissioning programme and to work with Government on the implementation of policy with regards to long term waste management and the future use of our plutonium stockpile."    

"I believe we are well placed to deliver real success over the next 10 to 20 years by when we will have made significant inroads at Sellafield and Dounreay, delivered all Magnox reactors into their 'Care and Maintenance' phase, completed the decommissioning of the Harwell and Winfrith sites and be well on the way towards developing a geological disposal facility." 

The approval of the Strategy follows an extensive period of engagement with stakeholders during 2009 and 2010, including a formal consultation exercise undertaken between September and November 2010. The Strategy has been approved by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, jointly with the Scottish Ministers as required by the Energy Act 2004.

• For more information see Our Strategy