The agreement is meant to provide the exchange of information to better solve decommissioning issues common to both companies. They will share expertise on site operation and management, environmental monitoring, radiation protection, project management, design engineering, stakeholder communications and engagement, and procurement strategies.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, England, on September 11.
Background: A subsidiary of the U.K. government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd. is responsible for the clean-up and decommissioning of Sellafield, Europe’s largest nuclear site.
Japan’s government has set a goal to complete the decommissioning of Fukushima by 2051, a target that TEPCO continues to work toward.
Japan: TEPCO says it has been dispatching its employees to Sellafield since 2018, and the exchanges have provided the company with advanced and useful knowledge for the decommissioning work being done at Fukushima.
“The cooperation to date has been a major force in advancing our decommissioning work,” said Akira Ono, chief decommissioning officer at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. “By incorporating international experience and technology, we have achieved results that contribute to the creation of a more reliable and safe decommissioning process. Furthermore, by sharing Japan’s efforts and achievements, we have built a relationship of mutual learning.”
U.K.: Euan Hutton, CEO of Sellafield Ltd., noted that Sellafield faces many challenges similar to those at Fukushima.
“Very few places in the world have decommissioning challenges akin to those at Sellafield,” he said. “By working together with TEPCO, we can unlock new technology and techniques. Over the years we have had reciprocal visits and workshops, and we’ve welcomed secondees from TEPCO to the Sellafield site.”