nuclear-news

Other sites considered for UK’s nuclear waste disposal

A government agency says it is “considering other options” for the location
of a nuclear waste disposal site on the Lincolnshire coast. Nuclear Waste
Services’ (NWS) plans for a geological disposal facility (GDF) includes a
land-based facility which would accept waste and send it through tunnels to
a disposal area under the sea.

The search has been focussed on a former gas
terminal in Theddlethorpe but, in an update issued on Tuesday, NWS said
“competing interests” in the site had “matured” over the past year. It
added a “range of studies” was being carried out in the search area which
includes the electoral wards of Mablethorpe and Withern and Theddlethorpe.

In the update, external, NWS’ communities director Simon Hughes said: “No
decisions on these options have been made at this stage, we will publish an
update early next year and our teams will be out in communities to explain
our findings, hear feedback and consider next steps.”

For more than three years, Nuclear Waste Services has been eyeing up the former Theddlethorpe gas terminal as a suitable location for the land-based part of its
geological storage facility or GDF. This facility would receive the nuclear
waste before transporting it through tunnels to rocks deep beneath the sea.
But, since NWS announced its plans in 2021, the gas terminal site has
attracted other interest from other energy industries. There are proposals
for a carbon capture and storage facility there, the possibility of a
gas-fired power station and the site is also being considered as a location
to bring electricity cables ashore from North Sea windfarms. In other words
– it’s getting crowded.

The proposed location for the under-sea disposal
site remains unchanged. But NWS is now widening its search for the
land-based facility. Crucially, this search will be confined to two
electoral wards – Mablethorpe and Withern and Theddlethorpe. But NWS will
not identify a specific location until next year.

BBC 12th Nov 2024 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3e8pex248yo

November 15, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized