Scientists and other authorities all over the world agree that a GDF is the safest way to deal with ‘higher-activity’ radioactive waste (the most radioactive kind) for the long term. This international consensus comes after decades of scientific research.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency will review the designs for a GDF, the proposed site, and the science that informs them, to make sure it protects people and the environment. A GDF will only be built if it can meet these criteria. You can find further help and advice on these independent regulators’ websites:
Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR)
You can also find information about the government’s independent advisors on radioactive waste management, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, (CoRWM).
There is international consensus that the safest permanent solution to manage higher activity radioactive waste is geological disposal, which involves putting the waste in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) beneath several hundred metres of solid rock.
Having a GDF in the UK will create jobs and guaranteed investment for the host community.
The process of finding a site for a GDF is consent-based; communities will be able to work in partnership with us, so that people will have the opportunity to create a future that works for them.
Please explore the documents below from the developer tasked with delivering a GDF in the UK, for further information on geological disposal.
Minutes of the Community Partnership meetings are made available and published here following the meeting.
Please note from Meeting 5 (April 2023) through to Meeting 12 (December 2023) any reference made in the minutes to the ‘Chair’ refers to the ‘Independent Interim Chair.
