Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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Government invites communities for 'no commitment' discussions on hosting geological disposal facility for radioactive waste
Communities interested in finding out more about hosting an underground disposal facility for radioactive waste were invited today to open no-commitment discussions with the Government.
A geological disposal facility will provide a permanent solution for our higher activity radioactive waste. Some of this waste is currently in storage but most will only become waste over the next century as nuclear facilities are decommissioned.
It is likely to take several decades before any such facility is operational, but it will provide a lasting and sustainable solution.
The invitation was part of the Government's Managing Radioactive Waste Safely White Paper published today, and follows a consultation in June 2007 about how a community voluntarism and partnership approach to siting a facility could work. This followed from the recommendations of the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) who carried out extensive expert, public and stakeholder consultation on the best long term management option for protecting the public and the environment.
Hilary Benn said:
"The issue of how we manage higher activity radioactive waste in the long term has been considered by successive Governments. Geological disposal is the internationally preferred approach for managing such waste and is being adopted in many countries including Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the United States and Sweden.
"The Government, along with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, will be looking to sit down and discuss, with any community that feels it has an interest, both the technical aspects of the safe implementation of a geological disposal facility and the wider social, economic and environment issues involved. Ultimately for the process to succeed a mutually acceptable agreement will need to be reached. These discussions will be exploratory and without any commitment to actually hosting a facility.
"Construction and operation of a geological disposal facility will be a multi-billion pound high technology project that will provide skilled employment for hundreds of people over many decades. It will contribute greatly to the local economy and wider socio-economic framework."
The White Paper sets out the technical programme to design and deliver a geological disposal facility, and the process and criteria to be used to decide the siting of a facility. Planning and development of a geological disposal facility will be based on four key pillars:
* a strong and effective implementing organisation, with clear responsibilities and accountabilities - the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA);
* strong independent regulation by the statutory regulators - the Health and Safety Executive, the environment agencies and the Office for Civil Nuclear Security;
* independent scrutiny and advice to Government on implementation - provided by a reconstituted CoRWM committee; and
* partnership working with a host community.
A dedicated website is launched today, at http://www.defra.gov.uk/mrws to provide the public with information on how the process will work. The White Paper is also available at this link.
Notes for Editors
1. The inventory of waste to be disposed in a facility will change over time as operational arrangements change and we find better ways of minimising arisings. The latest United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory (UKRWI) was published today at http://www.nda.gov.uk/strategy/waste/geological-disposal.cfm. The UKRWI will be used to track the latest estimates in waste and materials that will potentially need to be treated as waste at some future point. The inclusion of new build waste in the inventory for disposal will be taken forward in discussion with host communities as the programme proceeds.
2. The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management was set up in 2003 to review and recommend the option or combination of options that can provide a long term solution to the management of higher activity radioactive waste. It published its package of recommendations in July 2006 (http://www.corwm.org.uk) about existing and committed waste arisings. This included the recommendations for geological disposal, coupled with safe and secure interim storage which is the approach set out in the White Paper.
3. Government accepted CoRWM's recommendations for geological disposal, preceded by safe and secure interim storage, in October 2007. The response committed to consulting on implementing geological disposal and the consultation document "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely : a Framework for Implementing Geological Disposal" set out the Government's proposals for carrying forward this programme. This ran from 25 June 2007 to November 2nd 2007 and an Analysis and Summary of Responses was published on January 10 2008. Further information is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/radioactivity/waste/hilw/index.htm
4. Information on the community engagement process is also available at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Gettinginvolvedinyourcommunity/Volunteering/DG_078695
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