British Nuclear Group (BNG) is a subsidiary of BNFL. One of it main aims is to manage the decommissioning of many of the UK's nuclear assets under contract to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a government body set up specifically to deal with the nuclear legacy under the Energy Act 2004. It is also involved in power operations, fuel production and reprocessing, international decommissioning, and international transportation. The body employs more than 13,000 workers, and manages the Sellafield facility. BNFLs 18 UK sites BNFL, British Nuclear Fuels plc, is an international company, owned by the British government, concerned with nuclear power. ... The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a public body of the United Kingdom formed by the Energy Act, 2004. ... The Sellafield facility on the Cumbrian coast, United Kingdom Sellafield is the name of a nuclear site, close to the village and railway station of Seascale, () [1] operated by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), but owned since 1 April 2005 by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. ...
In September 2005, BNFL announced that it would like to sell the BNG. This move, that needs government approval to proceed, whilst enhancing the Group's ability to take on international rivals, has attracted criticism in that it would allow the private sector to profit whilst leaving the taxpayer to cover the bill.
External links
British Nuclear Group - official website
British Nuclear Group - details of site locations
Fluor bids for British nuclear firm
Government unveils plans for BNG to be broken up and sold, The Independent, 25 October 2006
It is decommissioning the Magnox nuclear reactors, which have already been shut down, and runs those still in operation ahead of their closure in the next few years.
That means BNG decommissions on a contract basis leaving the costs of the clean-up to the government and, ultimately, the UK taxpayer.
The contracts BNG already has from the NDA and overseas and its skills and expertise in decommissioning nuclear facilities at a time when demand around the world is growing.
BNG has also taken the lead in education and one of the messages it is most keen to convey is that the nuclear industry is inherently very clean.
BNG has experienced huge changes in the past few years most notably the shift in focus from managing power generation operations to decommissioning and from owner to contractor.
For example, last year BNG was able to use rescue submarine technology, of the same type that freed seven Russian sailors from the bottom of the sea last August, to take a major step forward.
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