KBR is a U.S. based company that provides full life-cycle professional services, project delivery and technologies. It was recently awarded a contract to support the U.K. Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) for development of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). The NWS is part of the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The facility is expected to create more than four thousand jobs for the local host community.
The three-year agreement calls for KBR to deliver expert project, program and portfolio support to NWS. KBR will coordinate work across the GDF program of work within NWS. This includes project management, communication and community engagement support, technical design, and digital and transformation strategy development.
KBR said that the new contract with NWS will leverage its "decades of experience and growing domain knowledge of the nuclear energy sector, including the deep technical expertise provided by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, a wholly-owned KBR subsidiary".
Paul Kahn is the president of KBR's Government Solutions International business. He said, “This work underlines our commitment to an ever-growing and increasingly important area of national critical infrastructure, It will leverage KBR's expanding capabilities in the UK, and it aligns with our mission to deliver innovative solutions that help our customers accomplish their most critical business objectives with safety and sustainability at the core.”
A GDF comprises a network of highly engineered underground vaults and tunnels. It is constructed to permanently dispose of higher activity radioactive waste so that no harmful levels of radiation ever reaches the surface environment. Other countries, including Finland, Sweden, France, Canada and the U.S., are also pursuing such projects.
According to a new report (GDF – Creating Jobs & Skills: A First Look) issued by NWS, more than four thousand jobs will be created during the time required for siting and constructing a deep underground facility for the disposal of higher-level radioactive waste. The report lays out how the multi-billion-pound program is expected to create thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs for over a century.
The NWS report states that “This highly engineered facility will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the UK and will provide a major investment for the local host community and its economy. Work on a GDF will carry on for about 175 years, generating an expected average of 2000 jobs in any given year. During this time, it could provide significant additional investment and create thousands of extra jobs through increased business opportunities and the development of new or improved infrastructure and facilities across the region.”
The report also said that employment will be generated at the facility itself and in the supply chain. It will attract further investment in the local area of the site. Most of the jobs that are created during construction and operation of the facility could and should be locally based.
Tom Greatrex is the CEO of the Nuclear Industry Association. He said, “Countries like Sweden and Finland, where GDFs are progressing, are already seeing the benefits, with significant investment and jobs already created, so we know what the UK can expect. It will also develop and strengthen the UK's proud legacy of world-class engineering and science.”
The U.K. search for a suitable repository site is a nationwide process based on community consent. It includes detailed investigations over a number of years to ensure that a GDF can be constructed safely and securely. Community Partnerships have formed in Mid Copeland, South Copeland, and Allerdale in Cumbria, and Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire. They are engaging in a dialogue with local people to ensure that they have access to information about what hosting a GDF might mean.