Public Invited to Air Views on Nuclear Waste

By NO BYLINE

PEOPLE who want a say on how the government should dispose of the country’s nuclear waste are being invited to a public meeting in Edinburgh.

Government advisers are carrying out a UK-wide review that will decide on how to get rid of the waste – but a decision on the exact locations where it will be dumped has still to be taken.

One of the options being considered for Torness Power Station is to bury its short-life waste in shallow pits close to the Dunbar plant. It is thought the waste would be stored in some sort of container, acting as a barrier to stop leakage into the soil.

Torness was expected to close in 2023 but owner British Energy is considering updating equipment that could extend the plant’s operating life by decades.

When the Dunbar plant is eventually decommissioned, the waste removed will be radioactive for around 300 years.

The waste disposal report, by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CORWM), will be unveiled next month. The CORWM meeting takes place on April 11 and 12 at Our Dynamic Earth on Holyrood Road.