Plans for a waste repository are needed before new nuclear power stations are built
Nuclear power is “back on the agenda with a vengeance” said UK prime minister Tony Blair in a forthright speech last month. His statements were surprising given that he made them ahead of his own government’s review of energy, which is not due to be announced until the end of this month. That review is expected to recommend the construction of a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK; Blair’s comments are a strong indication that will indeed be the case.
The energy review comes hot on the heels of a report by the government-appointed Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, which was asked to examine what to do with the country’s current and future nuclear waste. Unfortunately, after three years of deliberation, the committee has concluded what should have been blindingly obvious from the start – namely that nuclear waste should be buried in a deep underground repository (see pp8-9; print version only). It does have sensible things to say about the importance of consulting the public over nuclear waste, but it falls short on technical recommendations.
Having wasted much valuable time debating – and then dismissing – exotic solutions such as firing the waste into space, the committee has given no clear view on what kind of repository should be built or even what kind of geology would be most suitable for such a site. These decisions still need to be made, which will only delay construction of a repository still further. Blair’s apparent enthusiasm for nuclear power is to be welcomed, but a clear long-term plan on what to do with the waste needs to be in place before the construction of any new stations begins.
