Abstract
The UK has significant holdings of long lived radioactive waste that will remain potentially hazardous for many thousands of years. Previous attempts to dispose of these wastes have ended in failure. The most recent attempt ended with a refusal from the Secretary of State for the Environment to allow the construction of an underground rock characterisation facility (RCF) close to the Sellafield nuclear plant. The wastes still exist of course. If we are to avoid passing this waste legacy on to future generations, the need for a long term management solution remains. Such a solution may or may not include an element of disposal. In consultation with other parties, Nirex has reviewed the events leading up to the RCF decision in the light of other countries’ experience and recent academic research. This review has shown that if a widely acceptable solution is to be found, there will need to be a widespread consensus on three key issues, namely the process through which any solution is reached, the structure of the organisations charged with overseeing and implementing the solution, and the behaviour of those organisations and the individuals within them.
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