UK 'radioactive bunker' boosts nuclear reactor plans » Environment » 24dash.com

The UK has moved closer towards a new nuclear power station programme this morning after an interim report by independent experts claimed radioactive material could be safely stored in deep underground bunkers.

The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) was set up in 2003 to assess how Britain could best dispose of its existing mountain of nuclear waste, in addition to that produced by any new reactors.

A full report is due to be presented to the Government in July, however, a statement from CoRWM states that it "considers deep geological disposal to be the best available approach."

A further month of evidence will be presented and assessed by the committee from both experts and the public, before ministers then consider a potential restart to the UK's controversial nuclear power programme in order to meet ever increasing energy demands.

The CoRWM recommendation paves the way for a political decision on 'new nuclear' as until now the UK has failed to come up with a long term strategy for handling the deadly radioactive waste that remains lethal for tens of thousands of years.

In an open meeting of CoRWM's eleven members this morning the group has confirmed that a deep underground bunker sealed off from the associated bedrock is, in their opinion, the best way forward.

An underground repository would be 'safe' and represents a "fair burden to pass to future generations."

The ongoing review of Labour's energy policies indicates a likely return to a new nuclear programme of reactors, however, public concern over safety remains a huge obstacle to future development.

It is understood that a specific site for an underground bunker has yet to be decided, although many geologically 'stable' areas have been highlighted. However, critics claim no area can realistically be deemed 100% safe because of the potential effects of erosion, subsidence and earthquakes - no matter how small - in the centuries to come.

Despite this the CoRWM insist the concept is sound, but specific design models require extensive future study and development.

Parts of the Lake District, Wales, central Scotland and the east coast of England have been earmarked for potential bunkers.

An underground laboratory was planned in the 1990s near the Sellafield reactor, however, an acrimonious public inquiry forced an early halt to possible construction.

In an effort to build confidence in CoRWM's recommendations the group has enlisted the advice and views of many - including schoolchildren - but some remain cautious. Indeed the Royal Society are worried that the committee has placed public consultation ahead of scientific advice.

Friends of the Earth are unconvinced by the expert opinion provided so far, and claim waste could leak from containers within 500 years.

It believes the immediate priority should be to ensure waste is safely stored so that long term options can then be properly investigated.

FoE spokesman Roger Higman, who has been involved with the CoRWM process, said: "Britain's nuclear waste is a serious hazard. Urgent action is needed to ensure this waste is safely stored. But it must not be dumped deep underground.

"Much of this material will remain highly toxic for tens of thousands of years.

"It is vital that we take every possible care to ensure that long term solutions to the waste problem are properly investigated and don't lead to contamination in the future.

"Ultimately all ways of disposing of nuclear waste are fraught with risk. This means we shouldn't create any more. Nuclear power is expensive, dangerous and a major security threat.

"This is a massive decision that could lead to very large amounts of nuclear waste buried deep under the UK in a way that is very difficult to get it back again. It must not be rushed."

Over 350,000 cubic meters of 'high-level' and 'intermediate-level' waste exists in various locations across Britain. Official figures have indicated that spent uranium rods from a new nuclear reactor programme in the UK would virtually triple current radioactive waste levels.

Meanwhile, according to Friends of the Earth, CoRWM have highlighted a warning that Britain's nuclear waste is vulnerable to terrorist attack which the Government must take urgent action to deal with.

It is understood that "security specialists" have warned about terror threats, and have advised the committee that "it is our unanimous opinion that greater attention should be given to the current management of radioactive waste held in the UK, in the context of its vulnerability to potential terrorist attack.

"We are not aware of any UK Government programme that is addressing this issue with adequate detail or priority, and consider it unacceptable for some vulnerable waste forms such as spent fuel, to remain in their current condition and mode of storage."

The experts urge the Government to instruct the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to make the radioactive waste safe from terrorists.

They say the NDA should be told "to produce an implementation plan for categorising and reducing the vulnerability of the UK's inventory of radioactive waste to potential acts of terrorism, through conditioning and placement in storage options with an engineered capability specifically designed to resist major terrorist attack."

Rail chiefs have however hit back at claims by the environmental charity Greenpeace that nuclear waste transported by rail through Cumbria is a "prime target" for terrorists.

The charity took out a full-page advert in a national newspaper claiming that an attack on one of the trains could spread radiation over a 100km area and cause as many as 8,000 deaths.

Officials at the Sellafield reprocessing plant and Direct Rail Services (DRS), which transports the nuclear material, both insist that public safety is their priority.

They say nuclear materials are transported in purpose- built steel containers called flasks, each designed to withstand severe "incidents".

But Jean McSorley, Greenpeace's senior adviser on nuclear issues, said there is strong evidence that the nuclear transports have already been identified as likely targets for terrorists.

As far back as 1983, the IRA had included nuclear transports in Cumbria on their hit-list of targets.

She said: "If they breached the flask in situ with ground-to air-missiles, which are in the hands of terrorist organisations, the environmental, economic and social damage would be huge.

"These trains are prime terrorist targets."

She said that the nuclear transports pass along main rail networks every day. Uranium fuel rods are also sent abroad by sea via Workington Docks, she added.

A spokesman for DRS said: "The safety record of moving used nuclear fuel by rail is exemplary. This material has been transported in this way since 1962, travelling over eight million miles without any incident involving the release of radioactive material."

Copyright - Press Association 2006