Minister commits to volunteer approach on nuclear waste
Last updated at 14:32, Friday, 05 October 2012
New energy minister Baroness Verma has said the Government "remains completely committed to a community-led and voluntarist approach" to the nuclear waste issue and praised the “dedication and professionalism” of the workforce on her first visit to West Cumbria today.
She met management and members of the Sellafield Workers Campaign and also met Cumbrian council leaders to discuss the siting process for a geological disposal facility for nuclear waste.
The minister also called for a continued and strong focus on decommissioning at Sellafield.
Baroness Verma said: "Visiting Sellafield really does drive home the sheer scale and size of the challenge posed by our nuclear legacy, and why we must continue to focus relentlessly on our world-leading decommissioning efforts.
"Decommissioning and cleaning up the site will take many decades, but I am very encouraged by the progress being made and the dedication and professionalism of everyone at the site."
Commenting on her meeting with council leaders, she added: "Finding a long-term and sustainable solution for dealing with our legacy of nuclear waste is absolutely vital for Cumbria, and for the country as a whole.
"It has been extremely valuable to discuss with councillors in Cumbria the work that has already been done on the issue of siting a geological disposal facility, including the recent report by the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) partnership.
"In light of Cumbria councillors’ move to defer a decision on whether to take part in the next stage of the process, I want to be clear that Government remains completely committed to a community-led and voluntarist approach. We will also work closely with the councils to provide the information and clarification they need."
First published at 11:06, Thursday, 04 October 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk
Crisby....You couldn't be further from the truth regarding choosing a site on the grounds of safe geology then asking for volunteers...This is certainly not the case.
The geology was flawed at the last enquiry, there are more suitable areas but no more geology work has been carried out anywhere regarding an alternative site.
Whats happened this time is regardless of geology , the government asked for volunteers to host the site. Cumbria County Council put themselves forward.
Like I say the geology wasn't any good last time so whats changed?
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Duncan W - nothing has changed, but the previous examination was looking at one site and its surroundings. This one is looking at the whole of West Cumbria. Most of the geologists involved seem to have agreed that there may still be areas where the geology is suitable. As I understand it, if they don't find any, then it won't happen, unless the Government bites the bullet and puts it where the conditions are best (in Essex I believe, sounds like the right place for it...)
Posted by crisby on 10 October 2012 at 13:13