In a statement, the firm said the project is the final link in Magnox's process chain to safely contain and store intermediate level waste as part of the decommissioning of the power plant.
The twin reactor site was the country's first civil nuclear generating station. While the plant was active, and since it ceased its operations in 1989, the solid intermediate level waste has been stored in bunkers.
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On completion of the SILWE facility, the Solid Active Waste Bunker Retrieval (SAWBR) facility will retrieve waste from the bunkers and place it in stainless steel boxes. These will then be transported to the SILWE building for encapsulation, before being taken to the Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) store for storage for potentially the next 100 years.
Balfour Beatty will be responsible for the final design of the encapsulation process as well as the construction of the SILWE plant, including the mechanical, electrical control and instrumentation required.
Work on the facility, which is located in North Ayrshire, is expected to commence this month, with an anticipated completion date of the first quarter of 2017.
(JP/CD)
