International Nuclear Services

Uranium and Waste successfully returned to Sweden

International Nuclear Services (INS) and Sellafield Ltd have successfully returned Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) and uranium product to its Swedish customer AB SVAFO.

This impressive project began in October 2007 when 4.8tU of spent fuel from Sweden’s first research reactor was transported from the Studsvik site, where it had been stored since the early 1970s.

The fuel was reprocessed in the Magnox Reprocessing Plant at Sellafield in 2008, where the useful uranium and plutonium products were recovered from the spent fuel.

The ILW and uranium product was returned as part of the contract between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and AB SVAFO. The shipment has fulfilled UK Government policy for waste to be returned to overseas customers following reprocessing of their nuclear fuel in the UK.

The contract was managed on behalf of NDA by INS. INS Commercial manager Barry Hart said: “This project has involved close working relationships between AB SVAFO, INS and Sellafield Ltd. I am delighted that the ILW and uranium has been returned successfully and I would like to thank everyone involved for their contribution.”

Henrik Stridsman, Acting Managing Director of SVAFO, said: “This marks the safe and responsible completion of an important step in the decommissioning programme following early Swedish nuclear research.”

INS and Sellafield Ltd have more than 40 years experience of transporting radioactive cargoes including spent nuclear fuel, high level waste, plutonium and nuclear fuels without any incident resulting in the release of radioactive material.

For more information contact:

Steve Barnes
+44 (0)1925 833249

Ben Todd
+44 (0) 1925 834431