Nuclear waste treatment plant planned for Workington
Cavendish Nuclear and Amentum want to build a facility in Cumbria to process sodium coolant from the £2.6bn decommissioning of the Japanese Monju Fast Breeder Reactor.
Landowner Cumberland Council is supportive of the proposals, having spend £4.5m from the successful Workington Town Deal bid to clear the proposed Oldside site at the Port of Workington. Thomas Armstrong Construction has been the main contractor for the clearing works.
The two global nuclear specialists are working alongside Japan Atomic Energy Agency on the project.
As part of Cavendish’s work with JAEA, the company will seek to convert the sodium from the Fukui power plant into a form of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, that is suitable for industrial reuse.
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Moju Fast Breeder Reactor was a failed £7.2bn experiment in creating a nuclear plant that would burn its own spent fuel – thereby eliminating nuclear waste. It was only operational for 250 days before it was decommissioned.
Japan’s failure is Workington’s gain.
The sodium coolant processing plant would bring in a series of jobs to the area, according to Cumberland Council Leader Cllr Mark Fryer.
“This is fantastic news for the port as this new development, subject to the necessary approvals, will bring good quality jobs to Workington and support the wider supply chain and local economy,” he said.
Fryer has ambitions to turn the Port of Workington into a hub for clean energy, intermodal logistics, and manufacturing.
Cavendish Nuclear and Amentum have agreed to factor in robust social value programmes into their proposals for the site.
A spokesperson for the companies said: “Cavendish Nuclear and Amentum are grateful to Cumberland Council and the Port’s management team for their support in enabling our design and construction programme to move to the next phase.
“We are fully committed to adding real social value to West Cumbia and this new venture will contribute to the regeneration on the Port of Workington and support the local economy.”
Amentum is involved in another transformational project in the North – the building of Rolls-Royce’s SMR nuclear plant at Wylfa in North Wales.
