Sellafield signs historic deal with firm responsible for Fukushima clean-up

Both companies will share expertise to aid world's biggest nuclear clean-up jobs

Japanese company Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), who is charged with decontaminating the Fukushima plant that was devastated by a tsunami in 2011, is to sign an historic co-operation statement with UK nuclear operator Sellafield.

The agreement is the first step in enabling formal arrangements for the transfer of knowledge and experience between TEPCO and Sellafield, the company responsible for cleaning up Europe’s most complex nuclear site in Cumbria. It will give TEPCO access to the skills available from companies engaged in the Sellafield supply chain and provide access for the UK to advancements made at Fukushima over the coming years.

The agreement could potentially mean work for British companies, with one West Cumbrian firm, REACT Engineering, already working at the Fukushima site.

Sellafield managing director, Tony Price, said: “We have much that we can help the Japanese with initially, as they move their focus from power generation to cleaning up and decommissioning.

“But the technical expertise of the Japanese is renowned the world over, they are experts in design and manufacturing and, judging by their past performance on everything from motorcycles to nuclear reprocessing –once they start decommissioning in earnest there will be much that they can teach us.

“There are many similar challenges that we’ll be facing on our sites over the coming years and we can share our experiences, access to our supply chains and any advancements that come in the future. This will make sure we are both better equipped to deliver our respective missions.”

Naohiro Masuda, the president of TEPCO’s new Fukushima Daiichi Decontamination & Decommissioning Engineering Company, (FDEC), said: “We are now three years into the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, and while we have made good progress our biggest challenge has been in shifting the mindset from power generation to decommissioning – working with Sellafield Ltd, who are several years ahead of us in terms of decommissioning, will help us to move forward more quickly.”

The co-operation statement was brokered by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the government agency responsible for the clean up of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy, and owner of the Sellafield site. The NDA led the UK’s response to the Fukushima incident, facilitating the availability of equipment and expertise from Sellafield and other UK nuclear operators.