UK consults on nuclear waste facility

A consultation on working with communities in siting a nuclear waste facility in the UK has been launched. The government is inviting views from a range of sources including academia, […]

A consultation on working with communities in siting a nuclear waste facility in the UK has been launched.

The government is inviting views from a range of sources including academia, the nuclear sector and other industries from experience of major infrastructure projects as well as community sectors.

They do not need to be limited to the nuclear industry or radioactive waste projects.

The Call for Evidence on the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) will focus on the issues of community representation, community investment and the test of public support.

Geological disposal involves isolating radioactive waste deep inside a suitable rock volume to ensure no harmful quantities of radioactivity ever reach the surface environment.

That is achieved through the use of multiple barriers that work together to provide protection over hundreds of thousands of years and is not a case of simply depositing waste underground.

The responses from the consultation will be used to help the Community Representation Working Group (CRWG) develop policy proposals for how each of these areas will work in practice during the siting process.

According to DECC, there is general international agreement that geological disposal provides the “safest long term management” solution for higher activity radioactive waste.

The closing date for submission of responses is 4th September 2015.

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