Innovations to help the UK deal with its nuclear legacy came under the spotlight at the second Nuclear Decommissioning Authority stakeholder summit.

Around 200 stakeholders from businesses, organisations and communities involved in the clean-up of the NDA’s 17 sites across the UK gathered at the South Gloucestershire College Berkeley Green Campus for the two-day event.

The event showcased innovative remote and robotic technologies that are being put to use at NDA sites including Sellafield.

The spotlight on innovation and research and development were part of a wider agenda to give stakeholders an update on the progress being made on decommissioning and cleaning up the legacy left from the earliest days of the UK’s civil nuclear industry.

Professor Melanie Brownridge, head of technology at the NDA, said: “The stakeholder summit gives us an opportunity to communicate with people how R&D is helping us to deliver our mission and how the technology that we’re deploying on our sites is helping us to achieve this mission safer, faster and cheaper.”

The event encouraged discussions focused on the areas of waste management, skills and socio-economic sustainability, and included a networking exhibition and workshops.

This year the summit welcomed several international delegates from local authorities in Europe with nuclear sites located in their areas, giving them the opportunity to see how the NDA interacts with communities in the UK.

The NDA’s chief executive, David Peattie stressed the importance of the event, adding: “Maintaining productive relationships with our stakeholders is a vital part of the NDA’s work and the Stakeholder Summit is an extremely helpful way of explaining the progress we’re making in our decommissioning mission.”