The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

 

English and Japanese nuclear representatives have been sharing experiences on the issues surrounding efforts to find a location for a deep geological disposal facility (GDF) for higher activity radioactive waste.

Jay Redgrove, from the NDA's Radioactive Waste Management Directorate, based in Harwell, travelled to the Land of the Rising Sun at the invitation of AESJ, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, and WINJ, Women in Nuclear Japan to outline the UK approach.

AESJ promotes research and development in peaceful use of nuclear energy, while WINJ is a branch of Women in Nuclear Global (WiN-G), which aims to help the public and especially women to understand the benefits of nuclear energy.

Jay and Kai Ahlbom from Sweden's SKB were guests of NUMO and the international AESJ-WINJ conference, where they gave presentations to around 100 people, including academics, nuclear professionals and other interested parties.

NUMO, which is responsible for the disposal of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) and High Level Waste (HLW), has been encountering difficulties with finding a volunteer community to host a geological disposal facility and was seeking to understand the approach of other countries.

Jay said:

"The Japanese experience of seeking a volunteer community has so far been unsuccessful, and they were keen to hear about UK and Swedish experiences." She added that there was particular interest in the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership, which was set up by three Cumbrian Councils, Allerdale, Copeland and the County Council, to engage with local residents and other interested parties on whether to take part in the voluntary dialogue with Government about potentially hosting a GDF. The dialogue would not form a commitment to eventually hosting the facility.

"It was valuable for all parties to share experiences and we have brought back useful insights that will help to inform our own process," Jay added.

Japan has few natural resources of its own and therefore needs to import some 80% of its energy requirements. The country's 54 reactors provide some 30% of the country's electricity and this is expected to increase to at least 40% by 2017.

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