News round-up - 23 November 2015

Atkins buys US nuclear business, Colas and TRL launch professionals' road side working safety course, Sellafield clean up progress, manufacturing exports at lowest for three years.

Jackie Whitelaw
22 November 2015

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1. Atkins has signed an agreement to acquire the Projects, Products and Technology segment of US firm EnergySolutions an international nuclear engineering services business, for US$318M (£206M).

2. One of the UK’s most hazardous buildings at Sellafield is closer to being cleaned up after delivery of a huge piece of decommissioning kit. A 50t ‘transfer tunnel’ manufactured by Ansaldo NES in the West Midlands arrived at the Sellafield site, ahead of being hoisted into place in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo building. The tunnel is the main component of the first Silo Emptying Plant (SEP) – one of three 360t machines which will scoop out the highly radioactive contents of the building as part of its decommissioning. The silo, which was built in the 1960s, contains waste created during the early days of the nuclear industry. It represents one of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s four highest priority decommissioning jobs. The other three are also at Sellafield.

3. TRL, the Transport Research Laboratory, has partnered with Colas to launch a one day roadside working training course for professionals who have to operate or stop on the roadside. The course aims to help reduce the number of roadside injuries and fatalities by raising awareness of roadside working risks and arming workers with the knowledge they need to create and maintain a safer roadside working environment. Issues covered will include understanding how the choices and decisions professionals make can affect their safety and help prepare staff for contingencies and emergencies. The course will also cover the implications of driver distractions, such as mobile phone use, lone working and driver fatigue. For more information please contact: ryan.wood@colas.co.uk

4. Manufacturing orders stabilised slightly compared with last month, but exports are at their lowest for almost three years, according to the latest CBI monthly Industrial Trends Survey. The survey of 458 firms shows that output also recovered, though another small fall is expected in the coming three months. 29% of firms reported that output grew in the three months to November, while 25% said it decreased giving a balance of +4%, from -4% in the three months to October. But manufacturing output is expected to fall again next quarter (-6%) 11% of firms said their export order books were above average, while 40% said they were below, giving a balance of -29%. That was below the long-run average (-20%) and at the lowest level since January 2013 (-29%)

5. WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff has been awarded a £2M design contract to trial innovative noise reduction barriers on sites along the M40 between junction 3 and junction 8 which have been identified as areas where road noise is a particular issue and help decide where the barriers would be of benefit. Earlier this year, Highways England, working in partnership with the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group, (M40 CEG) Wycombe District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, ran a competition to develop a range of cost-effective barriers to reduce noise. Potential designs include using solar panels in the barriers to produce clean energy to help offset their installation and operating costs. Six entries were shortlisted and WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff will now work with the designers of the shortlisted entries to trial these noise barriers at the identified sites on the M40. These designs may also be installed on other parts of England’s strategic road network in the future.

6. An innovative treatment works using the natural environment to clean metal-rich water from an abandoned mine has been opened in Cumbria. Funded by Defra, the Force Crag mine water treatment scheme needs no chemicals or power and will clean up a 6 mile stretch of river, preventing up to a tonne of metals, including zinc, cadmium and lead, from entering Bassenthwaite Lake each year. The concept was developed by Dr Adam Jarvis and his team at Newcastle University and delivered by the Coal Authority in partnership with the Environment Agency, the National Trust, the Lake District National Park Authority and others.

7. Atkins has won a framework agreement to provide technical consultancy expertise for the renewal of Norway’s rail signalling system on over 4000km of track. The Norwegian National Rail Administration (Jernbaneverket) has committed to implementing the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) on the Norwegian railway network with the roll-out of ERTMS Level 2 and Baseline 3 due for completion by 2030. The duration of the initial framework agreement is 2 years with options to extend at the end of the contract period.