Radioactive Waste Disposal
Geological disposal involves isolating waste in an underground facility constructed in a suitable rock formation, typically at a depth of 200 to 1000m, to ensure that no harmful quantities of radioactivity reach the surface environment.
Resources
Underground or Overground? Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Blog Post, August 2014)
Past Events
London Lecture: Managing Nuclear Power on a Dynamic Earth (May 2014)
London Lecture: Meeting the challenge: Geological disposal of UK higher activity radioactive waste (March 2014)
Radioactive Waste Disposal: Site Characterisation - A one-day conference held at the Geological Society in 2011
Presentations
- Policy for Higher Activity Waste Disposal in the 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 Ahlborn, SKB
- The Commercial Strategy for Surface-based investigations - Andy Parkes, NDA
Podcasts
- Radioactive waste disposal part 1 - Rebecca Lunn of the University of Strathclyde discusses UK efforts to dispose of high level radioactive waste, and our moral obligation to find a long term solution
- Radioactive waste disposal part 2 - Professor Neil Chapman explains the hazards which need to be looked at when disposing of radioactive wastes, and what they mean for the future of the nuclear industry.
Policy statements and consultation responses
- Society Policy and Position Statement - Implementing Geological Disposal: A Framework for the Long-term Management of Higher Activity Radioactive Waste - July 2014
- Submission to Department of Energy and Climate Change: Review of the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Siting Process - December 2013
- Submission to Department of Energy and Climate Change: Siting Process for a Geological Disposal Facility - June 2013
- Geological Society Position Statement: Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) - September 2012
- Submission to Department for Energy and Climate Change inquiry: Managing Radioactive Waste Safely - September 2011
- Submission to House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry: Nuclear Research and Development Capabilities - November 2011
- Submission to Committee on Radioactive Waste Management draft report: R&D for management for Nuclear Materials - September 2009
- Submission to CoRWM Report to Government: Deep Geological Disposal of Higher Activity Wastes - May 2009
- Submission to Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's call for fact checking: Research and Development for management of nuclear materials - May 2009
- Submission to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on proposed research and development strategy - November 2008
Geoscientist Magazine
- Implementing geological disposal - Bruce Yardley on the new White Paper, September 2014 article.
- Radwaste: factual corrections - On the Soapbox discussion over Nuclear Waste, April 2014 article.
- Encounter at Meiringen – On the common ground of CCS and Radwaste, September 2011, article (this is on CCS and radwaste)
- Nuclear Wave – On the implications of Fukushima for nuclear new build and radioactive waste disposal, May 2011, article
- Nuclear vision – On the 2011 meeting with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, February 2011, news item
Read the Society's position statement.
Aimed at policy and decision-makers as well as the wider public, 'Geology for Society' outlines the importance of geology to our society.