Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration has been given to sites, other than Gosport, for the construction by Nirex of a low and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository.
§ Mr. YeoIn the 1980s, Nirex investigated the use of a disused anhydrite mine at Billingham in Cleveland for the deep disposal of long-lived intermediate-level radioactive waste and sites at Bradwell, Elstow, Fulbeck and South Killingholme for the near-surface disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
Investigations at Billingham ceased in 1985, when ICI, the owners of the mine, decided not to make it available to Nirex. Investigation of the other sites ended in 1987, when Nirex concluded that the economic advantages of separate near-surface disposal of low-level waste were not as great as had been thought and that it would be preferable to develop a multi-purpose deep site for low and intermediate-level waste.
Dounreay in Caithness and a site near Sellafield in west Cumbria, neighbouring the village of Gosforth, have both been considered as possible sites for the multi-purpose repository. At present, Nirex is concentrating its investigations on Sellafield.
Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the earliest date he expects that a waste repository for heat-generating nuclear waste will be operational in the United Kingdom; and which sites have been considered for such a repository.
13W
§ Mr. YeoHigh-level radioactive waste is treated and stored at the surface for a period of at least 50 years, which will allow heat generated by the decay of radioactivity to reduce. Decisions about the subsequent management of the waste will be taken in due course.