The siting, site characterisation, construction and management of a
repository for higher activity radioactive waste is one of the largest
Earth science and civil engineering projects in the UK, and is likely to
be the longest running, extending many decades into the future. As well
as being an essential societal application of our science, it will
generate a wide range of commercial opportunities to the geological
community.
As the site characterisation phase of the MRWS (Managing Radioactive
Waste Safely) programme gets underway, the Geological Society held a
briefing meeting in conjunction with the NDA (Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority), the body charged with implementing disposal of the waste.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss NDA’s progress to date and
proposed future plans on site characterisation with the geoscientific
community, both to further raise awareness and stimulate debate, and to
ensure that those who may constitute part of the supply chain for the
work are kept informed about plans and opportunities.
The presentations from the meeting can be viewed by clicking on the links below:
'Policy for Higher Activity Waste Disposal in UK' (Andrew Craze, DECC)
'MRWS Process and Site Characterisation' (Alun Ellis, NDA)
'Initial Geological Unsuitability Screening of West Cumbria' (Dr John Powell, BGS)
'Strategy for Site Characterisation' (Andy Parkes, NDA)
'Site Characterisation: An Overview' (Paul Armstrong, NDA)
'The Forsmark experience' (Kaj Ahlbom, SKB)
'The Commercial Strategy for Surface-based Investigations' (Andy Parkes, NDA)
An MP3 audio file of the open discussion at the end of the meeting, and the programme are available to download below:
Listen to the discussion
Programme