13 September 2018 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
Element Materials Technology (Element) has secured a contract with Magnox to provide asbestos monitoring and consultancy services.
Magnox, owned by Cavendish Fluor Partnership, is management and operations contractor for 12 nuclear sites and one hydroelectric plant in the UK, working for the sites' owner, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Managing asbestos across the sites is a key focus for Magnox. Element's monitoring and consultancy services will support compliance with regulatory standards, and assist Magnox on its mission to safely decommission and clean up the sites of the UK's first generation of nuclear power stations.
The new three-year contract with Element is valued in the region of £4-5 million a year, and will see the company provide testing solutions for Magnox, including:
Surveying by rope access - designed to safely survey difficult inaccessible areas at sites, while drastically reducing the need for scaffold or crane access.
Trainee intake scheme - employing local people, providing relevant training, and developing their skills, thereby supporting local communities, and providing opportunities that are of benefit to all concerned.
Electronic site data capture - a fully automated tablet solution will reduce paper use to almost zero. Data will be captured and stored on a secure database, providing Magnox with a real-time view of its performance, and the progress being made on dealing with this hazard.
Element has a full-time presence at nine out of 12 Magnox sites, visiting and supporting the remaining three. Among the team are classified workers as well as rope access-trained, confined-space trained, NEC 3 and CDM-trained specialists.
Element's asbestos services include identification of asbestos containing materials (ACMs), asbestos surveys, asbestos fibre air monitoring, and asbestos consultancy and management. It ensures that all asbestos testing is conducted in accordance with national and international regulations and standards, and the team's expertise is underlined through the ISO 17025 accreditation for atmospheric sampling, fibre counting and asbestos testing in bulk materials, and ISO 17020 accreditation for asbestos surveying.
The testing services isolate, identify and quantify all types of asbestos, in almost all types of materials, and in the built environment including retail, commercial, industrial and residential properties, as well as marine vessels.