Radioactive waste treatment services

Tender description

LLW Repository Ltd (LLWR) is a UK nuclear waste management company that provides services to UK customers to treat and dispose of low level radioactive waste. LLWR's customers include nuclear decommissioning and power companies, defence sites, the healthcare sector, research establishments and other industries within the UK. LLWR has established a service for Waste Characterisation and Assurance Support. As the current multi-supplier contract for this service is coming to an end, it is our intention to establish agreements with suitable Radioactive Waste Characterisation and Assurance Support providers via a multi-supplier framework, to give LLWR the ability to continue to provide this service to the UK's Nuclear Industry. The service will incorporate both Low Level and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes. The Waste Characterisation and Assurance Support Services framework agreement comprises four Lots as shown below: Lot 1 — Characterisation Support Services. Lot 2 — Analytical Support Services. Lot 3 — Site Assurance Support Services. Lot 4 — Environmental Monitoring. LLWR requires Contractors to provide people, resources, equipment and facilities suitable for offering a range of Waste Characterisation Services for radioactive waste to LLWR and its Customers. The Characterisation Support Services will consist of a range of consultation, sampling, analysis, interpretation, routing and measurement of Customer's wastes to support the treatment and/or disposal of the waste. LLWR anticipates appointing 3 suppliers to this Lot. LLWR requires Contractors to provide analytical services including people, resources, equipment and facilities suitable for analysing Customer's wastes to support the characterisation process and/or other site functions. Analysis should be carried out to recognised national and international standards and, where relevant, by appropriately accredited facilities to accredited methods. Contractors may be required to identify what to analyse for, including which radio-nuclides may require analysis, and which analytical techniques and packages may be deployed in order to support safety and inventory data collection for characterisation and/or other site functions. This may include analysing for radiological and non-radiological components. Wastes may be in liquid or solid form. On receipt at analysis facilities, Contractors must carry out sufficient checks and inspections to determine that the samples are suitable for acceptance into the facility. To support Customers in characterising non-standard wastes that require variations to LLWR's Waste Acceptance Criteria, the Contractor may need to provide services to analyse sludge, liquids and hazardous wastes, such as asbestos or mercury, including leach tests to demonstrate encapsulation in a suitable media in accordance with recognised national and international standards to meet the Waste Acceptance Criteria of relevant treatment and disposal facilities. Analytical requirements in order to underpin any waste characterisation submission to LLWR should be such that Customers receive sufficient and appropriate analysis to support the documentation. Contractors should be able to demonstrate that there is sufficient understanding of the requirements of both the Customer and LLWR in order that no additional or non-relevant analyses are undertaken. LLWR anticipates appointing three to 6 suppliers to this Lot. LLWR is required, under its Environmental Permit for the repository, to undertake assurance activities to confirm that waste received for disposal at the LLWR complies with the facility's Waste Acceptance Criteria. This is achieved through a Waste Assurance Programme that consists of a range of Audit and Verification activities. LLWR requires a range of support services from a suitable Contractor to deliver the Waste Assurance Programme. In-situ monitoring is required to be provided at the repository site of a base number of 20 ISO freight containers per financial year, with a provision to include in batches of 2 containers up to 30 containers in total if requested by LLWR. The containers will either be 3rd Height ISO freight containers (THISO) or Half Height ISO freight containers (HHISO). The in-situ monitoring capability shall be used to assess the activity content and radionuclide composition of the ISO freight containers to be disposed of at the repository. LLWR anticipates appointing a single supplier to this Lot. Nuclear licensed sites are duty bound under the terms of their Environmental Permit to manage their radioactive discharges to the environment in accordance with limits and conditions specified in Environmental Permits issued by the Environment Agency. Each Site must develop its own Environmental Monitoring Programme (EMP) in accordance with Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Environment Agency Guidance. The programme shall consist of direct measurement and analytical measurement on a number of samples removed from specified locations on and around the site. Data derived from these measurements is assessed and discharges to the environment calculated. The scope of the services involves the sampling of various environmental media around the Magnox sites at Harwell and Winfrith, and analysis of the samples for a range of radio-nuclides to very low levels. The Contractor shall be responsible for all transport, people, materials and equipment required in order to carry out the services. LLWR anticipates appointing a single supplier to this Lot.