RADIOACTIVE STORAGE
Radioactive waste from nuclear reactors could be buried deep underground potentially storing up trouble for future generations claim campaigners.
Since Tony Blair announced that nuclear power is ‘back on the agenda with a vengeance’, the controversial debate about dealing with waste from nuclear power has continued to mount.
Meanwhile the committee on radioactive waste management (CoRWM) has been investigating several options of disposal. This includes the possibility of storing it in deep underground repositories at a distance of 300 meters to 2km below the surface.
This deep geological disposal is said to encase the material in rocks, which act as a protective chamber. Charles Hendry the Conservative shadow minister for energy science and technology has recently been to Sweden to see a working model of underground waste management.
But not everyone is convinced that geological disposal is the way forward, and question marks remain about the safety of such a procedure. Nathan Argent is a climate campaigner from Greenpeace.
Mike Birkin of Friends of the Earth says if radioactive waste material is buried underground, there needs to be some reassurances that it can be isolated to reduce any potential risk of it leaking back into the environment. But he doesn’t believe anyone can provide that guarantee.
There is an obvious waste product associated with nuclear power as with any other energy source, but Martin Pearce of British Energy assures us that storing waste underground is both safe and secure.