Two companies in the UK have won a share of a multi-million pound contract at Sellafield.

TSP Engineering and Cavendish Nuclear will supply containers for decommissioning the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS).

The 50-tonne containers will be used to move radioactive materials from the MSSS to newly constructed treatment and storage facilities on the site.

The MSSS, built in the 1960s, is made up of 22 compartments, each big enough to fit six double decker buses, which store waste from the UK’s first generation of nuclear power stations.

In the first stage of the project, worth around £3 million to each company, both firms will manufacture a single package for testing.

Ron Gorham, Head of Supply Chain for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said: “This agreement marks an important step forward, not just for Sellafield as it begins to clean out one of its most hazardous facilities but also in underlining the important contribution of the supply chain, both locally and for the UK.”