FOI 01163 – Plans for GDF
Response issued 14/07/20
Documents
Details
Dear [redacted],
Thank you for your request for information which we received on 26th June. RWM can confirm that your request has been handled according to the provision of the current Freedom of Information Act (FOI) regulations.
Your request
Dear Colleagues,
The recent newsletter from RWM includes the following quote from Dr Sam King talking about the plans for a GDF:
Some types of radioactive waste will stay hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years, and existing storage >facilities won’t last that long.
Would you please let me know which elements/isotopes or materials this is referring to and specifically how long each one is hazardous, and in what form they are hazardous to human health (ingested, inhaled, via touch/on the skin etc).
Please also confirm how long existing storage facilities would last and where these are located. Regarding a second quote:
If we kept treating the waste exactly as we do now, then in about 100 years or so, we would start to see corrosion on the surface of some packages
Please confirm which packages are being referred to, what do they contain (or will they contain) and where are they located (or will they be located) and what corrosion may occur?
Thirdly:
…the storage facilities themselves would eventually need to be replaced as well.
Which storage facilities are being referred to? Does this include any facilities at Sizewell A and/or Sizewell B Power station.
Please treat this as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
RWM’s response
Information relating to your questions is held in a multitude of documents and although much of the information you have requested is already published and in the public domain, we have identified the most relevant based on the information you have requested and questions you have asked. The first document below is an overarching radioactive waste strategy for the UK and is useful in that it distinguishes arrangements for existing interim storage vs long-term disposal via a Geological Disposal Facility or GDF - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/600642/Industry_Guidance_-Interim_Storage-_Intetgrated_Approach.pdf ;
Another good place to start is the UK Radioactive Waste Inventory (UKRWI) and the 2016 inventory for geological disposal – these have lots of information about waste types, volumes, locations, and packaging - https://ukinventory.nda.gov.uk/ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2016-inventory-for-geological-disposal Additionally, to try and make it easier for you to find answers to your questions I have identified four (4) distinct areas of interest in your request which we have broken down as follows:
Request 1- Part 1:- Would you please let me know which elements/isotopes or materials ….Dr Sam King…. is referring to and specifically how long each one is hazardous, -
Section 5 of the Geological Disposal Biosphere Status Report (https://rwm.nda.gov.uk/publication/geological-disposal-biosphere-status-report/) provides information about radioactive elements/ isotopes/ materials and their potential impact on the biosphere
Request 1 - Part :- …..and in what form they are hazardous to human health (ingested, inhaled, via touch/on the skin etc).
This report explains the generic hazards to human health from inhaling, ingesting or becoming contaminated by radioactive material: https://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/protection.htm) ; see also the World Health Organisation report on ionising radiation. (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ionizing-radiation-health-effects-and-protective-measures)
Request 2 - Part 1 :- Please also confirm how long existing storage facilities would last
RWM does not own or manage these facilities (these are owned by various organisations including the NDA, Magnox, Sellafield, EDF and the MOD) and therefore we do not hold information about the predicted lifespan of these facilities.
Request 2 - Part 2:- …..and where these are located
Please see the Map of waste storage locations, which shows where waste is currently stored on an interim basis across the UK ; the map also shows the low level waste repository at Drigg in Cumbria.
Request 3 Part 1 - Please confirm which packages are being referred to (i.e. in Dr Sam King’s quote)
Examples of a waste product specifications can be found in the UK Radioactive Waste Inventory (UKRWI - https://ukinventory.nda.gov.uk/ - this has lots of information about waste types, volumes, locations, and packaging
Request 3 part 2 -what do they contain (or will they contain)
Again, please see UKRWI - https://ukinventory.nda.gov.uk/
Request 3 part 3 -….. and where are they located (or will they be located)
See previous map
Request 3 part 4 - and what corrosion may occur?
See UKRWI – also see container corrosion in the Geological Disposal - Waste Package Evolution Status Report (https://rwm.nda.gov.uk/publication/geological-disposal-waste-package-evolution-status-report/).
Request 4 Part 1 - Which storage facilities being referred to will need to be replaced?
See previous map – Where radioactive waste is stored at these locations, these are considered ‘interim’ storage facilities that will eventually need to be replaced or refurbished. The alternative to this ‘perpetual’ interim storage is long term disposal (i.e. in a geological disposal facility) which will eventually receive the waste ; see also this report to explain lifetime of facilities :- Guidance on interim storage of waste packages :- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interim-storage-of-higher-activity-waste-packages
Request 4 Part 2:- Does this include any facilities at Sizewell A and/or Sizewell B Power station.
This is not a question for RWM but for Magnox and EDF who run and manage the facilities at Sizewell A and B
I trust this information meets with your approval. If however you are dissatisfied with the way in which RWM has dealt with your request, you have the right to require us to review our actions and decisions. If you wish to request a review, please write to me within 40 working days. You will receive a full response to your request for review within 20 working days of its receipt.
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