WASTE MANAGEMENT | CAPPING ACTION
Capping off LLW disposal
Capping the Repository site will see an engineered cap of
aggregate and other specially-sourced materials installed over the legacy trenches and vaults when closed. This cap will permanently
protect people and the environment from radioactive waste materials. By Mike Pigott, Site Director at the Cumbria Repository, NWS
THE UK PIONEERED THE USE of radioactive materials and developed a whole new industry for the ‘nuclear age’. A world-leading nuclear sector has emerged and has continued to deliver benefits for many decades. Nuclear power still provides around 15% of the UK’s electricity and nuclear technology is also used in industry, medicine, and defence. As a consequence though, there is a legacy of both
higher-activity radioactive waste and low-level waste that has to be dealt with and all of it requires careful management, with safety the number one priority. Disposing of even low-level radioactive waste is a long-term mission. We must think about how it impacts people and the environment today and how it will impact them in hundreds or even thousands of years too. This means ensuring the radioactive waste we generate
is safely and securely managed now and permanently disposed of when facilities are ready for closure. There are a range of solutions available, including the existing Low Level Waste Repository site and for the most hazardous radioactive waste, the UK is now planning to construct a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).
The Low-Level Waste Repository, based near the village of Drigg, in West Cumbria, has been the main disposal site for the UK’s low-level radioactive waste since 1959. To date it is the only facility that is permitted to receive all categories of LLW in the UK and receives low-level solid waste from a range of stakeholders such as the nuclear industry, the Ministry of Defence, non-nuclear industries, and educational, medical and research establishments. Initially, this waste was placed into clay lined trenches and covered over with an interim cap. Since the 1980s waste has been received in steel containers, which are filled with grout and placed in engineered concrete vaults ready for final disposal. Managed by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) and led by
the Waste Operations team, the LLW Repository site’s role is to ensure that Low-level Waste generated in the UK is disposed of in a way that protects people and the environment. NWS provides integrated radioactive waste treatment, logistics and disposal services to support the UK’s radioactive waste programmes. It has delivered a step change in the management of radioactive waste in the UK and has been providing services and expertise to help
Above: An illustrative example of a GDF’s surface facility – for the most hazardous radioactive waste 14 | January 2025 |
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