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Nuclear waste is one of the most hazardous materials in the world, and the temporary home to the vast majority of the UK’s radioactive nuclear waste is Sellafield in Cumbria, which is also home to the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium. The nuclear waste is a highly radioactive product from the reactions that drive the UK’s nuclear power stations. The energy released by this waste can penetrate and damage the cells in the human body, and it also remains hazardous for 100,000 years. Experts say that Sellafield is filling up, and we have no choice but to find somewhere new to store this material safely.
In recent years, doubts have been raised about Sellafield’s security and physical integrity. The site no longer produces or reprocesses any nuclear material, but is currently dealing with several decades’ worth of much older radioactive material. There are various safety concerns about the site due to leaking storage silos and cyber-security failings.
The current plan for permanent, underground storage is to bury the waste deep underground. Communities in England and Wales have been asked to come forward to consider having a disposal facility built near their town or village; five communities have come forward so far, and three of them are currently being assessed by government scientists.
Mid Copeland, one of the communities being considered for a geological disposal facility (GDF), includes Seascale, Sellafield’s neighbour, where the industrial complex is the biggest employer in the area. A GDF could provide billions of pounds of investment in the area, and the community should benefit if they host the nuclear waste facility on behalf of the UK. The other two communities currently under consideration for a GDF site are South Copeland on the Cumbrian coast and a site on the east coast in Lincolnshire.
A GDF will provide a safe, long-term disposal of the most hazardous radioactive waste, and potentially the earliest date any waste could be placed in the GDF is the 2050s. Until then, the nuclear waste will continue to be stored at Sellafield, and it is imperative that the UK prioritises finding a new home for this hazardous material
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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