HC Deb 14 December 1976 vol 922 c669W
Mr. Richard Page

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if the proposed expansion of the Windscale nuclear fuel reprocessing works will result in the safer storage of radioactive waste than the methods currently employed.

Mr. Benn

Any additional waste storage facilities at Windscale would be built to the highest standards and, compared with some of the older existing facilities, would therefore provide greater assurance of safe storage. The proposed expansion at Windscale, which is the subject of a planning application, includes plant for the vitrification of high activity liquid radioactive waste. Vitrification would be in the interests of safety in providing a suitable method of longer-term storage in solid form and so making the waste easier to manage.