Waste management body says UK should be prepared to spend £10bn constructing a secure repository for nuclear waste

A government advisory committee appointed to deal with the problem of the UK’s nuclear waste has recommended construction of a deep repository estimated to cost £10bn.

The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CORWM) has recommended that government set up a body to identify suitable sites for the repository. In addition, the committee said the UK should build “robust interim storage systems.”

The repository is aimed at storing existing nuclear waste and that which will arise from the decommissioning of current nuclear sites. Construction firms already involved in decommissioning are expected to chase work in waste storage.

CORWM chairman professor Gordon MacKerron said: “The UK has been creating radioactive waste for 50 years without any clear idea of what to do with it. We are confident that our recommendations provide the way forward. It will, however, take a long time to put in place all the component parts so now it’s time to get on with the job.”