How will the UK manage radioactive nuclear waste long-term?
The fifth session of the Commons Science and Technology Committee’s delivering nuclear power inquiry focuses on the UK’s approach to decommissioning nuclear power stations and handling radioactive nuclear waste.
The UK has one of the largest nuclear decommissioning programmes in Europe, with over 17 sites in clean-up. The disposal of highly radioactive spent fuel needs a long-term and cost-effective solution.
Meeting details
MPs questions researchers, industry experts, and representatives of the responsible public bodies—the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and its subsidiary Nuclear Waste Services on what lessons can be learnt from past and current decommissioning activities.
One area of focus will be on the Government’s strategy to build a Geological Disposal Facility in the UK—a highly engineered underground facility which can store waste safely for thousands of years, compared to the current containers which last around 100 years. MPs will take evidence on the progress made with the first facility of its kind in Finland.
In May 2022, the Public Accounts Committee highlighted the rising cost of cleaning up old nuclear sites, with the cost of decommissioning the seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) nuclear power plants increasing from £12.6 billion in 2004–05 to £23.5 billion in 2020–21 in real terms.