Speaker
Description
It is widely accepted that the nuclear industry contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) through the production of clean, low-carbon energy. However, wider sustainability opportunities within the construction of nuclear facilities are less well recognised.
Further, in an industry that embraces safety, finding a balance between safety, environment, and other sustainable outcomes can be challenging. For example, focusing on increasingly low radiation doses requires additional mitigation measures that can have wider societal and environmental impacts.
At Sellafield Ltd, finding the balance between sustainable outcomes while managing its nuclear legacy is vital to achieving its mission of creating a clean and safe environment for future generations. In pursuit of this mission, a fleet of waste treatment buildings and stores are required, creating one of the most complex construction portfolios in the world. From a societal perspective, the local borough is highly dependent on the site for employment. Therefore, managing the historic nuclear legacies requires balancing social, economic, and environmental factors to manage the creation of future legacies i.e. contributing to the totality of the UNSDGs.
The presentation will explore examples from Sellafield on how the nuclear industry can balance safety and the environment with other sustainable outcomes.
