DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (04/08) issued by
The Government News Network on 10 January 2008
Responses to a
consultation on the way ahead for the geological disposal of
radioactive waste have indicated broad support for the proposals.
The Managing Radioactive Waste Safely : a Framework for
Implementing Geological Disposal consultation was issued in June
2007, and invited comments on the UK Government's proposals
for securing the long term management of higher activity
radioactive waste through geological disposal.
Defra has today published the Summary and Analysis of Responses
to that consultation, which closed in November 2007. The responses indicate:
* support for the proposals set out for securing the geological
disposal of higher activity radioactive wastes;
* support for how we might use a voluntarism / partnership
approach and site screening and assessment criteria to identify a
facility site;
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Hilary Benn, said:
"Geological disposal of radioactive waste is already being
worked towards by a number of countries, and the UK Government has
been clear for some time that this is our preferred way forward.
"This consultation sought to establish whether the way we
propose to implement geological disposal - as recommended by the
independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) - is
on the right lines. The results show that these proposals received support.
"This is a way forward for the long term. I re-emphasise our
commitment to ensuring the safe and secure interim storage of
waste and to a programme of ongoing research and development to
support implementation of both the interim storage and geological
disposal parts of this programme. The Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority will have the primary responsibility for delivering
these programmes."
All consultation comments will be considered in developing the
details of the next stages of the implementation process. Those
next stages will be set out in a White Paper to be published later
this year.
The Summary and Analysis of Responses is available on
Defra's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/radwaste-framework/index.htm.
Notes for Editors
1. Hilary Benn's written statement to Parliament is
published at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/statements/hb080110.htm
2. The UK has accumulated a legacy of radioactive waste from a
variety of different nuclear programmes, both civil and
defence-related. Some of the waste will be radioactive for
hundreds of thousands of years, and a way needs to be found of
managing it in the very long-term until the radioactivity has
decayed to safe levels.
3. The independent CoRWM Committee was set up under the
Government's Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS)
programme to advise on the best option or combination of options
for the long term management of the UK's higher activity
radioactive waste.
4. The Committee published its recommendations in July 2006 (http://www.corwm.org.uk),
recommending geological disposal as the best available method for
long-term management of this waste, following a period of safe and
secure interim storage whilst a geological disposal facility is
developed. There was also the suggestion of adopting a voluntarism
and partnership approach with local communities to help identify a
site for the disposal facility.
5. Government accepted CoRWM's recommendations in its
response of October 2006. The consultation document "Managing
Radioactive Waste Safely : a Framework for Implementing Geological
Disposal" set out the Government's proposals for
carrying forward this programme. Although it did not imply support
for future implementation, the consultation was jointly sponsored
by the devolved administrations for Wales and Northern Ireland to
inform the public and to seek views. The Scottish Executive did
not to sponsor the Consultation.
6. A number of countries have already made progress towards
implementing geological disposal. These include Finland, France,
Germany, Sweden and the USA.
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