The United Kingdom is expected to generate 4.6 million cubic meters of radioactive waste through 2135, most of it from nuclear power production, according to the latest inventory from the government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The department inventories the nation’s existing and anticipated holdings of radioactive waste and materials every three years. The new accounting covers the existing stockpile as of April 1, 2019, along with “future arisings.”
“As a pioneer in the development and use of nuclear technology, the UK has accumulated a substantial legacy of radioactive waste and nuclear materials from electricity generation, defence programmes and other industrial, medical and research activities,” according to the Jan. 10 document. “Some of this waste is already in storage, but much of it still forms part of existing facilities and will only become waste over the next century or so as plants are shut down, decommissioned and cleaned-up.”
The report breaks down the waste into four categories: high-level, intermediate-level, low-level, and very-low level.
High-level waste, in which radioactivity could cause significant heat increases, is generated through reprocessing spent fuel at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbia. The volume as of April 1, 2019, was about 2,150 cubic meters. That amount is expected to drop to 1,390 cubic meters due to conditioning and as glassified waste is shipped to customers in other nations, the report says.
Intermediate-level waste is comprised of steels, graphite, concrete, and other materials, in forms including facility equipment, fuel cladding, and reactor parts. The U.K. stockpile stood at 102,000 cubic meters last April. Another 145,000 cubic meters is expected to be generated.
Low-level waste has a radioactive content that tops out at 4 Gigabecquerels per metric tons of alpha activity or 12 Gigabecquerels per metric ton of beta/gamma activity. It is largely comprised of soil, steel, and other debris from disassembly and demolition of nuclear plants, along with other contaminated scrap. The nation held 27,400 cubic meters on April 1, 2019. Another 1.45 million cubic meters is anticipated to be produced going forward.
Very-low-level waste has a radioactivity level so low it can be safely placed in a disposal facility for municipal, commercial, or industrial wastes, BEIS said. On April 1, 2019, there was 1,040 cubic meters of the waste type in the United Kingdom. Another 2.83 million cubic meters is expected going forward.
