Confidential

Our mission was to provide support to 'critical decision' making for our client's nuclear waste facility by offering Optioneering and Engineering services. The client facility is a legacy radioactive waste storage and processing facility currently undergoing decommissioning. Since 2007, DBD has been part of an integrated client team, providing a range of strategic and technical support to the decommissioning project in the following areas:

• Decision Analysis Studies using DBD’s tailored complex decision making process (D2O)


• Support to the delivery of the overall waste treatment strategy (e.g. via studies of waste behaviour; management of research and development programmes; risk mitigation associated with waste uncertainties; and technical reactive materials studies etc.)


• Assistance in stakeholder engagement (e.g. the Regulators)

DBD’s support to the client has involved the deployment of D2O to make critical decisions on waste strategy, via a fully auditable and transparent process. Key to the success of DBD’s approach was:

• The engagement and interaction with key stakeholders including the funding parties, the Client, their Government and the Regulators to ensure their early buy in to the DBD led decision making process.


• The process was supported by differentiating services in nuclear process design, modelling, safety case integration, waste management and strategic site operations expertise.


• DBD directly contributed to a major change in strategy for management of wastes from the facility by using a staged decision analysis process. This eliminated the need for the client to build a £2 billion waste treatment facility and manage its future decommissioning


• DBD were able to work with the Client to develop the flowsheet of the alternative waste treatment option which minimised secondary waste products. This resulted in a cost saving to the client in excess of £1 million

Our integration with the Client Technical Team supported the development of the characterisation, retrieval, and processing options for the radioactive waste stored in ageing nuclear facilities. The application of Optioneering and Engineering principles in this environment helped to deliver significant long term cost and programme savings to the project.