US nuclear decommissioning partnership established

With the stated aim of providing US customers with a single contracting group to manage and deliver nuclear decontamination and decomissioning, industry giants Bechtel and Westinghouse Electric Company have announced the formation a partnership between the two that brings more than 100 years of industry experience.

In a statement, Michael Graham, general manager of Bechtel’s global environmental business, said: “Customers can trust that Bechtel and Westinghouse will provide integrated services and solutions to safely decommission, decontaminate, and dismantle a power plant, and prepare the site for other uses.

He went on: “In the United States, the average age of commercial reactors is some 33 years, and many are approaching the end of their licensing periods. Together, these two companies have the resources, experience and expertise to deliver the safest and cleanest decommissioning projects.”

Also in the statement, Mark Marano, Westinghouse president, Americas said: “Westinghouse is pleased to join with Bechtel to bring about the most fully-integrated range of decontamination and decommissioning services available to the US nuclear energy market. The deployment of consolidated, proven technologies and processes from this alliance will meet the needs of US nuclear power plants that are coming off-line, ultimately allowing the opportunity to return the land to useable property.”

The partnership is expected to provide a full range service from pre-shutdown planning, licensing, project development and management, dismantling, demolition, waste handling, and site closeout.