Britain Sets Out to Find Deep Nuclear Waste Site
UK: June 13, 2008
LONDON - Britain set out on Thursday to find a local community willing to
have the country's deadly nuclear waste buried in its backyard.
The call for local authorities to step forward to discuss hosting a deep
geological nuclear disposal facility came as the government made its
clearest plea yet for the country to be at the forefront of the global civil
nuclear power resurgence.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn published a consultation paper on nuclear
waste disposal suggesting waste should be buried deep underground -- in line
with a recommendation by a specialist committee two years ago.
"The Government ... will be looking to sit down and discuss, with any
community that feels it has an interest, both the technical aspects of the
safe implementation of a geological disposal facility and the wider social,
economic and environment issues involved," Benn said.
He noted that deep geological disposal was the preferred means in countries
such as the United States, France and Canada for dealing with high level
nuclear waste which remains deadly for thousands of years.
The government argues that nuclear power must be key part of the country's
future energy mix because it emits little climate warming carbon, is a
reliable source of power and is a way of guaranteeing energy security.
Industry Secretary John Hutton told a nuclear industry conference in London
on Thursday, "To meet our energy goals, we must do everything we can to
ensure new nuclear power stations are available as soon as possible."
"The UK must aim to become the world's number one location for new nuclear
investment," he said.
All but one of the country's nuclear power plants, which generate 19 percent
of the country's electricity, are due to be retired within 20 years.
But climate campaigners reject new nuclear power as being dirty, deadly and
a distraction from necessary investments in renewable energy sources like
wind, solar and waves.
"Nuclear waste is a financial and geological nightmare," said Greenpeace
nuclear campaigner Nathan Argent. "There is no plausible solution for our
existing legacy waste, let alone the waste from new reactors."
Legacy waste refers to waste material left over from Britain's nuclear bomb
programme dating back to the 1950s as well as that from the early and
existing fleet of civil nuclear power plants.
Current disposal cost estimates already stand at 73 billion pounds (US$142.7
billion) but are still rising steeply.
"Nuclear power isn't needed to meet our energy needs or tackle climate
change. The government should be investing in far safer and cleaner
solutions such as energy efficiency and safe renewable power," said Friends
of the Earth nuclear campaigner Neil Crumpton.
The government has announced a feasibility study into a 15 billion pound
tidal barrage across the River Severn that could generate five percent of
the country's electricity.
But an independent report on Tuesday said it made no economic or
environmental sense and should not proceed. (Editing by Caroline Drees)
Story by Jeremy Lovell
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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