Vinci Construction has built an aluminium weather envelope around two nuclear reactors in Bradwell.

The nuclear site is located close to the Essex coastline and is currently undergoing an accelerated decommissioning programme, which will see it become the first reactor site in the UK to enter Care and Maintenance.

Over 28,000 individual fittings were used to build the envelope, which involved more than 900 people working over 980,000 hours since the scheme began in 2012.


In addition, 690 tonnes of scaffolding and two large tower cranes were used to carry out the project.

Closure Director, Scott Raish, said: "Preparing for an 80 year care and maintenance period often means building things as well as demolishing them. This is the biggest construction project we will undertake and completing it safely is a huge step towards our end goal of closing this phase of decommissioning."

Senior Site Engineer Ken Ellingford, added: "Having worked at Bradwell for more than 30 years, I'm delighted to have been involved in a project that has totally transformed the look of the site. We have taken worn and ageing buildings constructed in the 1950s and given them a fresh new look that the site team and the community can be proud of."

(LM/MH)