Nuclear mattersRadioactive-waste tracking software deployed at U.K. nuclear sites

Knoxville, Tennessee-based U.S. environmental software company AttentionIT will introduce its nuclear-waste-tracking software at five of the nuclear sites currently being decommissioned in southern England. Magnox South, a company owned by Utah-based EnergySolutions, awarded the contract to install AttentionIT’s eMWaste software at all its facilities and to proceed with a rollout schedule that AttentionIT will service from its new international headquarters in Warrington.

AttentionIT’s eMWaste is a waste tracking software that provides electronic storage of information related to “cradle to grave” treatment of radioactive and mixed waste. This includes characterization, storage, movement, processing, treatment, shipping, and disposal of waste products. The Engineer reports that the United Kingdom has authorized more than £73 billion for the clean up of twenty civil nuclear sites over several decades. AttentionIT believes that its software will play a key role in the U.K.’s decommissioning activities and plans to use its base in the north west to eventually service sites nationwide.

Mark Hughes, executive director of economic development at the U.K. North West Development Agency (NWDA), said: “AttentionIT has been able to benefit from the expertise and industry knowledge of our colleagues at the North of England Investment Agency, who since 2006 have worked closely with the company to establish good relationships. By having representatives on territory in key overseas markets, the NWDA is able to directly showcase the region’s opportunities, innovation, talent, infrastructure and affordability.”

Mark Orren, chief executive of AttentionIT, said: “The Warrington site will not only be our national U.K. base, but our international headquarters. We are able to operate our software remotely from a central location and Warrington’s central base in the heart of England’s north west has the necessary infrastructure to allow us to tackle the entire U.K. market and to ultimately break into the European market and beyond. We plan to hire from within the U.K., utilizing the skills and enhanced knowledge of the local population. Our company may be based in Knoxville, but I anticipate the UK office becoming the larger employer within the next three years.”