nuclear-news

UK’s Cumbrian nuclear waste site dilemma

About 1,000 construction workers would take an estimated 15 years to complete it at a projected cost of between £12bn and £20bn.

Nuclear waste disposal: Where in Cumbria to bury it? BBC News 8 Oct 12 The need for deep underground nuclear waste storage is becoming crucial Arguments over nuclear waste disposal have been raging for decades, especially in Cumbria where the search continues for a site suitable for storing waste for tens of thousands of years.

Nuclear and scientific experts disagree about geological issues and, combined with Cumbrian public concerns at having an underground repository for nuclear waste, the dilemma continues.

Cumbria has volunteered to consider housing waste in the county – and
nationally, it is currently the only option.

But experts say the way in which site selection is being carried out is wrong.

Tourism fear
Britain needs to find a site for long-term underground storage for
high level nuclear waste, as some of the spent fuel from the
Sellafield nuclear plant will remain dangerous for up to 100,000
years.

Part of West Cumbria was investigated for an underground nuclear waste
laboratory in the 1990s in what was called the Nirex Plan, but a
planning inspector ruled that the geology was unsafe.

Alun Ellis, from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), said:
“That doesn’t mean that we might not be able, if everything goes well
with the planning process, to find a suitable site in Cumbria.”

Cumbria County Council, along with the authorities in Allerdale and
Copeland, is demanding clarification on what the community benefits to
Cumbria might be, along with guarantees of money to promote the county
and protect its image.Although nowhere in Cumbria has been ruled out,
two highly sensitive areas, that could be investigated further, have
now been identified by one geologist.

These are Eskdale in the South West Lakes and Silloth in the North
Lakes areas…… £20bn bill
The government’s agreed solution to the storage question is to bury
the nuclear waste.

Engineers who have assessed the project to build deep underground
storage facilities feel it would be a bigger construction challenge
than that of the channel tunnel, with tunnelling between 200 and 1,000
metres.
This process of voluntarism seems to me to be ludicrous”
Dr Keith Baverstock
Former government adviser
About 1,000 construction workers would take an estimated 15 years to
complete it at a projected cost of between £12bn and £20bn.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is committed to the
process of site selection being to establish a list of volunteer
communities followed by testing the feasibility of each site’s
geology….. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-19816861

October 9, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes