Based on a new government strategy, as many as five million tons of nuclear waste could end up buried within a shallow pit under the English countryside.
Near-Surface Facility For Burying Dangerous Radioactive Nuclear Waste
According to these new plans, a near-surface facility that is dug less than 200 meters below the surface could help hold some of the dangerous nuclear waste of the UK. While the pit's location is yet to be revealed, the Government says that it could be constructed within the next decade in Wales or England.
These plans aim at easing pressure on the 17 nuclear waste disposal plants of the UK. These plants currently struggle with handling seven decades' worth of waste buildup.
However, a solution for the pressing problem of dangerous nuclear waste in the UK may not be available for 25 years or so.
This facility may hold intermediate-level waste, which is classified as less hazardous than materials that are extremely radioactive, such as plutonium. According to a DESNZ (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) spokesperson, such materials may include stainless steel, graphite, and other ferrous metals.
The DESNZ says that such types of wastes do not require hyper-secure isolation. They can also be more safely and quickly disposed of in such disposal facilities that are near-surface. The spokesperson also explains that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority would be responsible for coming up with robust siting criteria for determining the location of the site.
It is likely for local councils to resist plans for constructing a nuclear disposal facility in their jurisdictions, which could limit the location possibilities. The facility could possibly be constructed in a former nuclear site or disused mine in order to avoid planning permission difficulties.
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Nuclear Waste Disposal Safety
Though the government says that this facility will be safe, there are concerns regarding how radioactive waste escaping could result.
It may take thousands of years for nuclear waste to end up completely safe. Underground risks of disposal also percolate water, returning waste towards the surface.
With the massive timescales necessary for nuclear disposal, the risk for environmental change causing the waste to end up released becomes even higher.
In fact, according to a 2016 study, rising sea levels could lead to the release of 35 pools' worth of nuclear waste from the US Army base Camp Century situated in Greenland.
There have also been recent failures with storing nuclear waste that have casted doubt on how such wastes could be managed effectively. Last April, a storage facility in Cumbria was warned to act due to a delay in capping or securing the site's waste.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is necessary for nuclear waste to be processed for it to be disposed of safely. The process includes collecting and sorting it, altering its physical and chemical composition, lowering its volume, and conditioning it for immobilization and packaging before being stored and disposed of.
As the government keeps on boosting the nuclear power capacity of the country, the matter regarding where spent fuel should be put may become a growing problem. Nevertheless, the government plans to push with the construction of three new power stations and some tiny modular reactors.
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