Allerdale area ruled out of consideration for Nuclear Waste repository

The area of the former Allerdale borough council has been ruled out of consideration as a potential host for an underground radioactive waste facility.

Nuclear Waste Services has announced that the area was not suitable geologically for the disposal facility, known as a GDF, following study of existing data and new assessments to understand pm the basis of six siting factors, which were safety and security, community, environment, engineering feasibility, transport, and value for money, whether it would make sense for a GDF was located in Allerdale.

A spokesman said: “Following a comprehensive and robust evaluation of information it was concluded only a limited volume of suitable rock was identifiable and the geology in the area was unlikely to support a post closure safety case.

“Nuclear Waste Services has therefore taken the decision not to take Allerdale further in the search for a suitable site to host a GDF.”


Nuclear Waste Services added that initial assessments of existing data and information for the other three communities – mid-Copeland, South Copeland and Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire – in the siting process have indicated potentially suitable geology.

Corhyn Parr, CEO of Nuclear Waste Services, said: “We need enough suitable geology to accommodate a GDF and to support safety cases to build, operate, and close the facility. Our assessments show evidence of limited volume of suitable rock for a GDF in the Allerdale search area, including the adjacent inshore area.

“We wish to thank the Community Partnership and the Chair for their hard work, time, and commitment. They have been instrumental in active local engagement and working with community groups who we have been able to support through NWS community funds.”

“There is a positive legacy to the Allerdale community’s participation in the process, with around £2 million GDF Community Investment Funding supporting over 50 local projects which we will continue to support.

“We’re engaging with three other communities about hosting a GDF, with site evaluation work underway in these areas. The door also remains open for new communities to join the process.

“The GDF Programme is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country. It will dispose of higher activity waste deep underground, safely and securely containing and isolating the waste making it safe for future generations.

“The GDF programme requires both a suitable site and a willing community and is still in the early stages. Construction will only start on a GDF when a suitable site is identified, a potential host community has confirmed its willingness to host the facility through a Test of Public Support, and all the necessary consents and permits have been obtained. These steps could take around 15 years.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nick Herbert on his visit to flood hit areas of Cumbria

Please note that the post below was published more than ten year ago on 21st November 2009 Nick Herbert MP, shadow cabinet member for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, was in Cumbria this morning to see the areas affected by the flooding. He writes on Conservative Home about his visit. Here is an extract. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick where I met officials from the Environment Agency. Although the river levels had fallen considerably and homes were no longer flooded, the damage to homes had been done. And the water which had got into houses wasn’t just from the river – it was foul water which had risen from the drains. I talked to fire crews who were pumping flood water back into the river, and discovered that they were from Tyne & Wear and Lancashire. They had been called in at an hours’ notice and had been working on the scene ever since, staying at a local hotel. You cannot fail to be impressed by the
Read more

Quotes of the day 19th August 2020

Image
"Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise."  ( Cato the Elder , who lived 234 BC - 149 BC, quoted in "Lives" by Plutarch.) There is a similar saying by Germany's Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck: Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have put the same saying in a more humorous form: "Wise men profit by the mistakes of others, while fools will not learn even from their own blunders." See also this thread on the "Quote Investigator" website . Let us all be wise and learn from the events of the last few days.
Read more

Quote of the day 24th July 2020

Image
I was moved to put the passage below forward as a quote today when I saw a horrible post on twitter from someone writing that it was "excellent" that someone who took a different view from her about Brexit had died. I won't write which way round it was so that all the Remain supporters can assume the post was from a Brexit fanatic welcoming the death of a remainer and all the Leavers can assume it was a Remainiac welcoming one less Brexiteer. There's been plenty of nasty stuff on both sides but if you catch anyone of your own viewpoint  posting something like that who might listen to you, please do call them out on it - and point out that they're giving everyone on your side of the argument a bad name. Anyway, here's the quote from John Donne.
Read more