Britain's AECOM, AWE announce nuclear waste storage partnership

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- British company AECOM will be the lead delivery partner in a nuclear waste depository program, AWE Plc. announced on Wednesday.

AECOM leads a consortium of companies operating U.K. Nuclear Waste Management Ltd., the country's low- and intermediate nuclear waste repositories. A statement on Wednesday said its operations are a "key component of the U.K. government's nuclear deterrence program."

AECOM's initial commitment of $3 million until 2020 is expected to grow to about $500 million in the next 12 years.

The contract includes the decommissioning and demolition of current facilities, the completion of new facilities and the management and transportation of material across sites in Scotland and northern England.

In Britain, low-level nuclear waste is treated and placed in containers before being stored in specially-designed concrete vaults across several locations.

"We are proud to be selected as AWE's delivery partner for this important work in support of the U.K.'s nuclear deterrence program," AECOM CEO Michael S. Burke said Wednesday in a statement.

"For the past several years, we have demonstrated our leading project management and nuclear decommissioning expertise both in the U.S. and internationally, including several key U.S. Department of Energy sites, and are continuing to invest in this business to capitalize on an attractive pipeline of innovative programs, such as this with AWE."