Communities asked to take radioactive waste
The government wants to see new nuclear power stations built in UK
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Thursday, 12, Jun 2008 04:02
Communities are being asked by the government to consider having an underground facility for radioactive waste.
Environment secretary Hilary Benn has attempted to make hosting a geological disposal facility an attractive option by emphasising the jobs it would bring "for hundreds of people over many decades".
A statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said such facilities will provide a permanent solution for the UK's higher activity radioactive waste.
Geological disposal facilities are being adopted in many countries including Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the US and Sweden.
The invitation to communities is part of the government's managing radioactive waste safely white paper published today, and follows a consultation in June 2007 about how a community voluntarism and partnership approach to siting a facility could work.
"The government, along with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, will be looking to sit down and discuss, with any community that feels it has an interest, both the technical aspects of the safe implementation of a geological disposal facility and the wider social, economic and environment issues involved," said Mr Benn.
"Ultimately for the process to succeed a mutually acceptable agreement will need to be reached. These discussions will be exploratory and without any commitment to actually hosting a facility."
The announcement comes on the same day business secretary John Hutton said the UK must become the "the world's number one location for new nuclear investment".
"To meet our energy goals, we must do everything we can to ensure new nuclear power stations are available as soon as possible," he insisted.
In response to the radioactive waste proposal, Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Neil Crumpton said an increasing amount of nuclear waste "will remain a dangerous threat for tens of thousands of years".
"Building a new generation of nuclear reactors would create more waste that is even more toxic than the current material. We need a long term strategy for dealing with our existing waste – not plans to add to it," he added.
"Nuclear power isn't needed to meet our energy needs or tackle climate change. Rather than trying to breathe fresh life into this dangerous and expensive white elephant, the government should be investing in far safer and cleaner solutions such as energy efficiency and safe renewable power."