CURRENT STATUS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM PROGRAMME FOR LONG-TERM RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

摘要

In 1997, the UK programme for the deep disposal of radioactive waste was “stopped dead in its tracks”rnwith the refusal by the Secretary of State for the Environment to allow Nirex to go ahead with its plansrnfor an underground Rock Characterisation Facility at Sellafield in north-west England. Since that time arnHouse of Lords’ Select Committee has held an enquiry into what went wrong and what the way aheadrnshould be. In addition, Nirex and the nuclear industry players have also been analysing the past with arnview to learning from the experience in taking things forward. In Nirex’s view this is essentially anrnethical issue; the waste exists and we should deal with it in this generation. Three areas need to be betterrnaddressed if a successful programme of management of the nation’s radioactive waste is to be achieved:rn1. the process of how policy development and implementation can be achieved;rn2. the structure of the nuclear industry and its relationship to the waste managementrnorganisation; andrn3. the behaviour of the players in their interaction with stakeholders.rnAll three are underpinned by the need for transparency.rnIn recognition that developing a policy for managing radioactive waste has to be achieved with thernsupport of all stakeholders, the Government instigated a consultation exercise in September 2001. Therninitial phase of this initiative is essentially a consultation about consultation and is intended to decide onrnhow the next stages of a six year policy development programme should be addressed. In addition to thisrnexercise, the Government is undertaking a fundamental review of the structuring of the United KingdomrnAtomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). They are both shareholdersrnin Nirex and in November 2001 the Government announced the setting up of a Liabilities ManagementrnAuthority (LMA) to manage the long-term nuclear liabilities that are publicly owned, particularly throughrnthose organisations. The future of Nirex will be directly influenced by the outcome of these reviews.rnThe Company does not see itself continuing in its present form. Indeed we and others have expressed thernview that any new organisation should have responsibility for all UK wastes, not just ILW and LLW as atrnpresent, and that there should be clear legal obligations (for example in terms of transfer of liabilities)rnbetween the different institutions.rnThis represents a challenging time for Nirex but we have tried to analyse the failures of the past and arernusing our experiences to inform the debate. At the same time we are providing a crucial service to thernwaste producers and society as a whole, in co-operation with the regulators.rnUltimately, we believe there is a need for a new waste management organisation, independent of thernnuclear industry, having responsibility for the long-term management of all UK radioactive waste whichrnwould have at its foundation, the competence and the experience of Nirex.