Canada launches $10m Oil Spill Response Challenge

The solution with the greatest net benefit to the Canadian oil spill regime will be awarded a $2m grand prize

A sticky situation gets £10m solution

Government has launched a taskforce to tackle chewing gum litter across England’s streets – with major producers investing up to £10m

Corona to clean up US beaches

The beer company has committed to removing 500 tonnes of plastic from the most polluted beaches in the United States

MPs concerned about North Sea oil and gas clean-up costs to taxpayers

The Public Accounts Committee is calling on BEIS to ensure taxpayers are protected from the risk of footing the bill

Radioactive waste cleared from Bradwell nuclear plant

All of the Fuel Element Debris (FED) waste from the former Bradwell nuclear power station has now been cleared. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) says the clearing of the intermediate level radioactive waste from the Essex site is an important step towards the site’s planned clean-up and final closure. A range of innovative techniques were used […]

Oil spill technology takes a leaf out of nature’s book

A troublesome aquatic fern may hold the key to cleaning up oil spills. More commonly known for choking waterways with leaves and damaging ecosystems, Salvinia molesta could now prove useful by soaking up petroleum without absorbing surrounding water and thus cutting disposal costs. Claudia Zeiger, Researcher at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), said: “We […]

Radioactive fuel rods removed from first Fukushima nuclear reactor

Japanese energy firm TEPCO said it reached a milestone in the clean-up of the Fukushima power plant, by removing all of the radioactive fuel rods from one of its reactors. The reactor is one of four badly damaged by a deadly earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Over the weekend, the last four of 1,553 […]

Sellafield seeks suppliers for £1.5bn nuclear clean-up

Sellafield Ltd is looking for specialist suppliers to help with cleaning up and decommissioning the nuclear site in Cumbria. The work at the site, dating backing to the 1940s, has been valued at up to £1.5 billion and will be for 10 years. Around 11,000 people work at Sellafield but it needs “external assistance” to […]

Nuke pumps – radioactive sludge gets £50m to speed clean-up

Radioactive sludge in a nuclear “pond” which is sixty years old could be cleaned up three years’ quicker after a new £50 million project was announced yesterday. The project will use petrol-pump style technology to suck the waste out of a storage pond and pour it into sealed drums. Dorothy Gradden, Head of Pile Fuel […]

Japan’s ‘homeless recruited for Fukushima nuclear clean-up’

Homeless men in Japan are reportedly being recruited to clean up the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. A massive earthquake and tsunami in the nation’s northeast coast set off multiple meltdowns at the nuclear plant almost three years ago. The Japanese Government pledged 47 billion yen (£0.3bn) towards cleaning up the power plant in September […]