KATHERINE MORRIS*, GARETH T. W. LAW AND NICK D. BRYAN

ABSTRACT

In the UK, there is a nuclear waste legacy associated with over 50 years of nuclear power generation that is currently stored at the Earth’s surface. This is a global phenomenon in which many nations are now facing up to the radioactive waste legacy of several decades of nuclear power gen­eration. As society considers new nuclear power as a low carbon, secure source of energy, it is apparent that geological disposal of higher activity radioactive wastes is now the favoured route for management of this highly radioactive legacy material. Timely implementation of geological disposal is therefore a current challenge facing the UK and other nuclear nations if we are to demonstrate safe management of these materials for future generations. In this chapter, we review the type and characteristics of the higher activity wastes that the UK needs to dispose of; examine the concept of a geological disposal facility in the context of UK and inter­national experience; and discuss the proposed implementation pathway for UK higher activity waste geodisposal in the context of our large and complex nuclear legacy. Finally, we discuss the environmental chemistry research challenges that we see as vital to the safe management and dis­posal of these legacy radioactive wastes.

1 Introduction

Radioactive waste management is now a pressing issue for the UK: there is an extensive legacy of higher activity wastes (HAW), some of which have been treated for storage and geological disposal; there is also a need to demonstrate * Corresponding author

Issues in Environmental Science and Technology, 32 Nuclear Power and the Environment Edited by R. E. Hester and R. M. Harrison © Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, www. rsc. org that wastes generated from any new nuclear power reactors which are proposed as a secure, low-carbon energy source, can be managed in the future. In England and Wales, geological disposal has been chosen as the long-term management pathway for HAWs. The implementation programme for a national geological disposal facility (GDF) was launched in 2008 (ref. 1). Indeed, the scientific and societal challenges facing the UK in legacy manage­ment are being echoed at a global scale. In this chapter, we discuss the types and quantities of radioactive wastes that are likely to be disposed of to a GDF and the likely planning and design concept for this type of facility. We also highlight selected environmental chemistry research challenges in geological disposal as they relate to the reduction in uncertainties for the GDF safety case.