We now hold a Full Waste Management license that enables us to receive all varieties of decommissioning materials, including concrete mattresses, pipes, cables, umbilical’s, structures, rigid pipe, flexibles, and general debris. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has also granted us a Modular (EASR) Permit for the safe handling of hazardous materials, so that we are now fully operational for all manner of platform dismantling and well plug abandonment scenarios.
SEPA is a public body of the Scottish Government that regulates thousands of businesses across Scotland, ensuring their conduct protects the environment from harm. They do this through legislation, compliance and promoting best practices, engaging with scientists and other experts to ensure the advice and regulatory framework applied is up to date.
Radiation protection supervisors will be on-site to handle hazardous or contaminated equipment or substances, and all relevant staff have undergone NORM awareness training. The new licenses and measures put in place mean that we can confidently hit our target of recycling or reusing at least 98% of the material that will pass through our new decommissioning facility at Birchwood.