Environmental issues consultancy services

Tender description

LLW Repository Ltd (LLWR) is a UK nuclear waste management company that provides services to treat and dispose of low level radioactive waste. A regulatory necessity for LLWR is to maintain the capacity and capability to support the implementation and ongoing development of the Environmental Safety Case (ESC). The objective of LLWR's ESC is to demonstrate to the Environment Agency and other stakeholders that it is safe to continue to dispose of low level waste at the Repository. LLWR's in-house ESC team is supported by specialist external resource via the current multi-lot ESC Framework Agreement. The Agreement expires on 31.3.2017, therefore a tender is required to replace this Framework and ensure continued access to this highly specialised ESC resource. This is likely to require a small team to be based at LLWR's office in Calderbridge, Cumbria for a set number of days per week, to carry out the following tasks: — Developing work plans; — Provision of advice on technical integration and consistency; — Detailed specification of technical activities; — Management of technical tasks; — Checking of calculations; — Review of reports and other documentation produced for the ESC or relevant to the ESC; — Undertaking technical tasks being performed by the ESC team; — Support to other LLWR teams relating to the ESC; — Technical development and training of ESC Technical Managers; — Training other LLWR staff or contractors to enable implementation of the ESC; — Stakeholder and regulatory engagement. Providing support to the ESC Team in undertaking technical activities such as: — Development of understanding and models of the repository near field; — Improvement of the characterisation of the site; — Support and input to the site's environmental monitoring and contaminated land programmes; — Development and application of radiological and non-radiological assessments of impacts to humans and the environment; — Mathematical modelling with specialist software of groundwater flows and contaminant transport, and the near field including gas generation; — Development and application of assessment models implemented in GoldSim; — Experimental laboratory or field studies to improve understanding of the engineered facility and its environs; — Development and production of the documentation for the next major review of the ESC. Providing support in the maintenance, development and application of the LLWR's understanding of the site's geology and hydrogeology. This includes software models of the site's geology and hydrogeology. It is anticipated that much of the work undertaken will be in support of the detailed understanding of the LLWR site's geology and hydrogeology that underpins both the conceptual and assessment models. Some aspects of the work may be focussed on supporting the detailed design and construction of the site's closure engineering and future vaults. The work scope may include geological recording of borehole construction and excavations made on the LLWR site. The selected contractor will need to provide staff with the necessary qualifications, experience and expertise, and also availability to support programmes of work on the LLWR site, which is a nuclear licensed site. For a contractor to provide a group of experts, the Peer Review Group (PRG), with the necessary technical experience and expertise, and professional standing, to provide independent peer review of work relevant to the LLWR's ESC. It is noted that an important aspect of the work of the ESC will be supporting the detailed design and implementation of the closure engineering and future vaults. Potential contractors will need to propose an appropriate group of experts and have the necessary commitments from the experts or their employing organisations in place. Reports summarising the work of the independent peer review group will need to be produced, as well as reviews of documents, meetings, etc.