NDA signs cooperation arrangement with JAEA
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) joins forces with Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to share expertise in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management.
Dr Adrian Simper, NDA’s Strategy and Technology Director, and Hajime Ito, Executive Director Japan Atomic Energy Agency, signed the agreement
The NDA is responsible for cleaning up and decommissioning 17 nuclear sites across the UK, including the most complex UK nuclear site at Sellafield in west Cumbria.
JAEA is Japan’s research and development institute for nuclear energy, including radioactive waste management, decommissioning and remediation. JAEA’s work includes the decommissioning of the Monju fast breeder reactor and the Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP) as well as research and development to support the decommissioning and environmental restoration of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power station (1F).
Implementation of the latest techniques and technologies from across the globe, and from other industries, is an essential part of the NDA carrying out is mission safely while delivering value for the UK taxpayer.
The new cooperation arrangement, which was signed in London on 18 September, builds on the collaborative relationship with JAEA to allow the exchange of skills, knowledge, research, information and technology between the NDA Group and JAEA. The arrangement will expand on previous arrangements, made in 2008, to include the decommissioning of Monju and TRP.
The NDA has developed an international reputation for its progress in tackling the radioactive hazards left as a legacy from the earliest days of the UK’s nuclear industry.
The NDA’s Strategy and Technology Director, Dr Adrian Simper, said:
The UK nuclear industry, its people, suppliers and its approach to decommissioning has a fantastic pedigree and the NDA is eager to share its expertise with other countries for mutual benefit in progressing our decommissioning and hazard reduction missions.
We have a long history of working closely alongside our Japanese counterparts – the continuation of this agreement is a natural progression of a long and productive relationship.