Nuclear decommissioner joins lifting association

Magnox South Limited, the company responsible for decommissioning five closed nuclear power stations in southern England, has become the 300th member of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA).

The new milestone means that the LEEA, which represents both suppliers and users of overhead lifting equipment and associated services, has more than doubled its membership in six years.

"We have joined the LEEA so we can benefit from the Association's expertise and publications. After running nuclear power stations for many years we are now decommissioning five sites. We do not make or supply lifting equipment but we do make extensive use of it," said Peter Janes, head of profession for conventional safety at Magnox.

"The transition from running power stations to decommissioning them has meant that our lifting operations have changed from the regular lifting of standard loads to many one-off lifts as redundant plant is removed. Hence we have been revising our arrangements and want to model them on industry best practices. We have long regarded the LEEA's code on the safe use of lifting equipment as the authoritative guide and will be issuing the User's Pocket Guide to slingers and appointed persons," added Janes.