The UK government has begun a new search to find a site to host a multi-billion-pound deep geological repository for higher-level radioactive waste, which is currently stored at various sites across the country. In a statement to parliament on 19 December, Richard Harrington, the parliamentary secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, said a suitable site “will be determined jointly by the willingness of a community to host a disposal facility and the suitability of the geology in the area”. He said the process to find a site will be led by Radioactive Waste Management Ltd, a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Local authorities will have a key role in the decision-making process and will be required to test public support in the local area for a facility being located there before construction can proceed. The repository will be a multi-billion-pound infrastructure investment and will provide skilled jobs and benefits to the community that hosts it for more than 100 years, Mr Harrington said.
Nucnet 21st Dec 2018 read more »
