26/10/2006

Wales Assembly Minister for Environment Carwyn Jones said it is planned to bury radioactive waste underground but "we are not seeking to impose it on any community."

Plans for the long-term management of higher-activity radioactive waste were announced by the UK Government and devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland this week.

Higher activity waste, which includes waste from the nuclear and medical industries, military uses and academic research, will be managed in the long term through geological disposal.

Geological disposal is a long-term management option involving
placing radioactive waste in an engineered repository at between 200 and 1000 metres underground where the geology (rock structure) provides a barrier against the escape of radioactivity.

Until geological disposal facilities are available, there will be a continuing need for safe and secure interim storage.

Carwyn Jones said: "We are committed to taking forward this important task to ensure the safe and secure management of our radioactive waste.

"We are not seeking to impose radioactive waste on any community. I am determined that the new approach for selecting sites will be carried out from the beginning in an open, transparent way with appropriate opportunity for public and stakeholder, as well as expert community, involvement," he said.

Planning and development of geological disposal will be based on four pillars:

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority acting as a strong,
effective implementing organisation with clear responsibilities and accountabilities;

Strong independent regulation by the statutory regulators:
the Health and Safety Executive, the environment agencies and the Office for Civil Nuclear Security;

Independent scrutiny and advice to Government by a successor
body, built on CoRWM principles;

Open and transparent partnerships with potential host
communities for disposal facilities.

Announcing the decision in Parliament, Environment Secretary David Miliband said a strong, effective organisation was now needed to implement the policy.

He said: "We have decided that responsibility for securing geological disposal of waste should fall to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, so as to create one organisation able to take a view across all stages of waste management.

"Their support is of major importance, as strong independent regulation is key both to ensuring the safety of people and the environment and securing confidence and trust in the delivery arrangements," Mr Miliband added.

Mr Miliband said the UK Government and the devolved administrations would discuss with stakeholders how a partnership arrangement could work in practice, and invited any local authority or group of local authorities who wanted to be involved to take part in that discussion.