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Challenging questions concerning UK’s Geological Disposal Facility (GDF)Test of Public Support.

Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), the division of the taxpayer-funded Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority, charged with identifying a location for a
Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) into which Britain’s legacy and future
high-level radioactive waste will be deposited, has stated that the two
criteria that will determine the location are – the availability of
sufficient ‘suitable’ geology and the consent of a ‘willing
community’.

Three ‘Search Areas’ are known to be under consideration
for the GDF – Theddlethorpe on the East Lincolnshire coast and Mid and
South Copeland on the West coast of Cumbria.

According to the government
and industry guidance that governs the conduct of this investigation,
whether such consent exists will ultimately be determined by a Test of
Public Support amongst the members of the Potential Host Community (PHC).

The timing of the test is down to the Relevant Principal Local Authorities
(RPLAs) – Cumberland Council in Cumbria and Lincolnshire County Council
and East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire, but its nature and the
participants in it are determined by the Community Partnerships that have
been established supposedly to provide stakeholder oversight to the
process.

Whether the test is then carried out by the RPLAs, NWS staff or
both is not specified, but if the result is negative, NWS are required to
withdraw the area from further consideration.

 NFLA 2nd Jan 2024

January 9, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes