environmental news & information about the UK electricity supply industry
They came from all corners of the country to kickstart the new and thrilling age of atomic energy. And once thrown together in the small Caithness town of Thurso, the “Atomics” – the name given to the 1960s Dounreay workers – set about letting their hair down, kicking up their heels and enjoying life to the full on the northern edge.
Herald 17th Oct 2021 read more »
A controversial scheme to bury nuclear waste deep under the sea bed off the Lincolnshire coast might not be suitable as a site. If plans for the site at Theddlethorpe near the seaside town of Mablethorpe went ahead, vaults would be constructed and rubbish dumped over the plant’s 100-year operational life before the site is finally sealed off. But the mining engineer in charge of the multi-billion pound scheme, which former Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins has an involvement in, admitted it is not known if the site is even suitable. Mr Collins is the Independent chair of the working group on the project. Government agency Radioactive Waste Management wants to build a plant at the old gas terminal at Theddlethorpe to receive “high-level” material for storage at a “geological disposal facility” (GDF) in clay rock 500 metres below the North Sea, reports Lincolnshire Live.
Nottinghamshire Live 13th Oct 2021 read more »
As part of the GDF programme, RWM looks forward to working with the newly formed Theddlethorpe Working Group and starting local discussions about the possible siting of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). A Working Group marks the starting point in an exploratory, fact-finding and discussion process that would continue for as long as necessary before any commitment from a local community to host a GDF. Two similar Working Groups have already been established in Copeland and Allerdale, west Cumbria. Both have been holding a series of initial face-to-face public events to hear people’s views and share information, and to prepare for Community Partnerships. RWM will be a member of the Working Group, along with independent Chair Jon Collins, ex leader Nottingham City Council, Lincolnshire County Council, and Theddlethorpe Parish Council. East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) has also been invited to join. The group will begin engagement with people living around Theddlethorpe and surrounding areas. It will focus on gathering information about the area, sharing information about geological disposal, and beginning to understand any issues or questions the local community might have. Leaflets are being sent to local households and information packs are also available on the Theddlethorpe GDF Working Group website. The first series of walk-in meetings with the Working Group team will start later this month, from 27 October.
RWM 12th Oct 2021 read more »
The mining engineer in charge of the multi-billion pound scheme to bury nuclear waste deep under the sea bed off the Lincolnshire coast has admitted it is not known if the site is even suitable. Government agency Radioactive Waste Management wants to build a plant at the old gas terminal at Theddlethorpe to receive “high-level” material for storage at a “geological disposal facility” (GDF) in clay rock 500 metres below the North Sea. A GDF contains solid radioactive waste encapsulated in concrete or glass and packaged in a concrete or metal container which is stored in underground tunnels and vaults. If Theddlethorpe went ahead, vaults would be constructed and rubbish dumped over the plant’s 100-year operational life before the site is finally sealed off. Local talks and the process of identifying a search area for the facility can now begin following the launch of a working group on Tuesday, October 12, after the county council agreed to join the group. But the site would probably not receive its first trainloads of waste until the 2040s at the earliest, even if the numerous planning hurdles were successfully cleared and the public gives its consent. Head of siting Steve Reece said that RWM is not entirely certain at this stage if Lincolnshire even has the right geology.
Lincolnshire Live 12th Oct 2021 read more »
Plans to dispose of nuclear waste from across the UK in Lincolnshire can only go ahead with the support of a “willing community”, officials have said. Radioactive Waste Management (RWM), a government agency, has identified a potential site at a former gas terminal in Theddlethorpe, near Mablethorpe. However, opponents said the move would impact tourism and lower house prices in the area. A working group has now been formed to examine the proposals.
BBC 12th Oct 2021 read more »
Plans for a nuclear waste storage site on the Lincolnshire Coast took a step forward today as the company bidding for the facility launched a working group. Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) is considering a site in Theddlethorpe for the facility but it has already faced opposition from local campaigners. The plans would see a surface receiving facility at the site of the village’s former gas terminal but the nuclear waste itself would be disposed several hundred metres under the seabed.
ITV 12th Oct 2021 read more »
The Lincolnite 12th Oct 2021 read more »
Grantham Journal 12th Oct 2021 read more »
Greenpeace activists today laid fifteen metal drums featuring a radioactive symbol in front of the headquarters of Orano, a French nuclear fuel company, in protest against the dumping of French nuclear waste at an unsafe site in Seversk, Siberia. The protest comes as a new investigation by Greenpeace France has revealed that exports of nuclear waste to Russia have restarted after an eleven-year hiatus.
Greenpeace EU Unit 12th Oct 2021 read more »
A third site in Cumbria has been earmarked for the underground disposal of Britain’s nuclear waste stockpile. The Copeland Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) working group had already earmarked two areas of west Cumbria for geological exploration. Now the Allerdale GDF Working Group has added a 89 sq mile (230 sq km) area to the search for the best site. The Lake District National Park is not being considered for the disposal of nuclear waste. There are also no plans to use former or future coal mines for the purpose. The latest site being considered is made up of 13 Allerdale districts, including near Aspatria, Maryport and Seaton.
BBC 8th Oct 2021 read more »
Researchers in the UK have devised a process that uses electricity to remove radioactive contaminants from irradiated nuclear graphite. The process could reduce the volume of waste from nuclear power plants that requires expensive and long-term storage. Graphite is used to maintain the fission chain reaction in certain types of nuclear reactors. Over 300,000 tonnes of nuclear graphite waste are estimated to be awaiting storage or disposal worldwide. Due to a high density of legacy reactors, approximately a third of the world’s irradiated graphite waste is within the UK. ‘Most of the advanced nuclear reactor technologies being proposed for future low carbon energy production will also use nuclear graphite, so this waste burden is likely to increase for future generations unless novel solutions are examined to treat, reduce and recycle this waste form,’ explains Abbie Jones from the University of Manchester. ‘Technologies that can minimise this burden will not only massively reduce costs of managing legacy wastes but also improve the sustainability of future nuclear reactors and help achieve net zero targets.’ The UK’s current strategy, as outlined by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, is to store the waste graphite temporarily to allow short-lived isotopes to decay prior to final disposal. However, storing nuclear graphite waste is expensive, space-inefficient and runs the risk of contamination. In response to these issues, Jones and colleagues set out to determine whether electrolysis in high-temperature molten salt media could be applied to decontaminate nuclear graphite. Team member Clint Sharrad says they chose to use molten salt due to its wide electrochemical window, allowing them to access electric potentials that could better force nuclear graphite contaminant removal.
Chemistry World 7th Oct 2021 read more »
Critics of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad accused Department of Energy officials of attempting to expand the facility before the State of New Mexico’s primary oversight board. The DOE planned to add two new panels to the underground where nuclear waste is permanently disposed of, but has frequently argued the move was intended to replace space lost to contamination during a 2014 incident and not to increase the amount of waste stored at WIPP. But that didn’t stop opponents of the project from voicing their concerns that the DOE was moving ahead with an expansion of WIPP during a Oct. 6 meeting of the Radioactive Waste Consultation Task Force.
Carlsbad Current-Argus 7th Oct 2021 read more »
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) has published a report on ways to inform future generations where radioactive waste has been disposed of and how it should be handled. The report was commissioned by the government to examine different methods for how information and knowledge about the final repository for used nuclear fuel can be secured over a long period of time.
World Nuclear News 5th Oct 2021 read more »
The Allerdale GDF Working Group has today announced a proposed Search Area for further consideration in the search for a suitable site to host a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) to permanently dispose of higher activity radioactive waste. A Search Area is the geographical area on land within which Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) – the Government organisation responsible for planning and delivering the project – would seek to identify potentially suitable sites. Search Areas have to be based on district electoral ward boundaries. Following completion of early-stage work today’s proposal outlines an area of approximately 230 square kilometres, comprising 13 Allerdale District electoral wards. The Search Area does not include any land that is within the boundary of the Lake District National Park (LDNP), which will continue to be excluded from consideration. Deep geology beyond the coast is also being considered for the siting of the underground elements of a GDF.
Allerdale Working Group 5th Oct 2021 read more »
A search area has been identified in the hunt for a possible nuclear waste disposal site in Allerdale. The next part of the process involves forming a Community Partnership to continue the conversation. However, a Community Partnership can only be formed with participation from at least one relevant Principal Local Authority. If a Community Partnership is formed, there will be a process for identifying groups, organisations and individuals aiming to be reflective of the community to continue this work as Community Partnership members. At that point, search area communities will be eligible to benefit from Community Investment Funding for projects, schemes and initiatives that improve the local area or the community’s wellbeing. Construction of a GDF requires both a suitable site and a willing community. If a suitable site is eventually found in Allerdale – which could take 10-15 years – a Test of Public Support (such as a poll or referendum that gives people a direct say) would be held with those living in the wards affected. Without public support, the project would not go ahead.
Cumbria Crack 5th Oct 2021 read more »
Allerdale GDF Working Group have finally released a map of their search area today, illustrating where they would like to consider burying the UK’s vast nuclear waste inventory. However, what they haven’t mentioned is that a significant proportion of the chosen area has previously been declared as unsuitable by the British Geological Survey (BGS). Here is a map produced by the BGS in 2010 which identifies areas unsuitable for geological disposal, largely due to the presence of coal and coal-bed methane.
Cumbria Trust 6th Oct 2021 read more »
The government agency behind the plans to build a nuclear waste dump in Theddlethorpe has pledged to answer campaigners’ questions after councillors agreed to hold talks. Radioactive Waste Management has had plans for the nuclear waste facility for two years and now Lincolnshire County Council has joined a working group to test the public support for it to be built in Theddlethorpe. When it was made known to the public in July this year, it caused controversy and anger among some residents, who have recently protested outside Lincolnshire County Council offices twice to express their opposition to the idea. Today (October 5) some gathered chanting “no nuke dump” and holding up banners which read “no nuclear dump – back to agriculture as promised”, as councillors made a decision to join a working group. One protester directed a comment at Radioactive Waste Management telling them to “go away”. Radioactive Waste Management has made a statement on Lincolnshire County Council’s decision to join the working group. Steve Reece, head of siting at RWM, said: “We welcome today’s decision by Lincolnshire County Council to accept the invitation to join a working group. “We will now focus on the work required to enable the working group to be formed as soon as possible, so it can begin engagement with people living around Theddlethorpe and surrounding areas.
Lincolnshire Live 5th Oct 2021 read more »
A NEW deputy council leader and deputy mayor have been selected in Hartlepool after a councillor stepped down from the positions following a nuclear waste talks row. At the latest Hartlepool Full Council meeting Conservative Councillor Cameron Stokell was named new deputy leader, while Independent Councillor Rob Cook was chosen as deputy mayor. It comes after Conservative Councillor Mike Young announced his resignation from the two positions in August following controversy over his role in talks about potential nuclear waste disposal in Hartlepool.
Northern Echo 5th Oct 2021 read more »
THE first roof beams have been lifted into place as part of the project the decommissioning project at Dounreay. Local firm, Hugh Simpson, is contracted by GRAHAM Construction to store, transport and install the beams at the former nuclear site. In the first phase of works, 31 beams weighing between 25 and 45 tonnes each were transport to site by four extendable trailer articulated lorries. They were then lifted into place using the existing on-site 250-tonne crane and a 500-tonne mobile crane. A total of 76 beams are required to complete all the works, with them already having been manufactured in Ireland shipped to Scrabster in August.
Project Scotland 4th Oct 2021 read more »
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