60 billion pounds required to destroy UK's nuclear waste

[struggle4progress]

LONDON: The cost of cleaning up the nuclear waste generated over the last 50 years in the U.K. will be of the order of 60 billion pounds, and it may take at least about 75 years to complete the task. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which has been assigned the task, has come out with a document in this regard.

The NDA, established in April after the various nuclear bodies in the country were reorganised, has initiated a three-month consultation on how the 20 aging nuclear sites in the country could be closed safely.

High on the priority list of the NDA is the Sellafield nuclear complex in Cumbria, says Sir Anthony Cleaver, chairman of the NDA, who reiterates that reducing the risks posed by old storage facilities at the nuclear complexes is an expensive affair. He said NDA would also look at decommissioning the 11 Magnox power stations built in the 1960s and 1970s. Only four of these stations are now operational.

The government had earmarked an amount of 48 billion pounds for the task, which is now being raised to 56 billion pounds. Sir Anthony warns this is bound to go up as several new issues have cropped up -- like destroying 100 tonnes of plutonium and thousands of tonnes of uranium stored at Sellafield, if they are to be classified as waste. The cost could then go up by 5 billion to 10 billion pounds. <snip>

http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/122005671.htm

[Greeby]

1. From a UK taxpayer who hopes to be alive for most of the time

I say, just do it, dammit! :grr:

[moof]

2. When was the process for destroying Nuclear waste invented ?

That process alone is worth trillions.

[struggle4progress]

3. In fact, they mean facility decommissioning and repository costs:

"The NDA intends to invite bids .. to begin .. decommissioning ... It is planning a .. depository at Dounreay and finding an alternative site for .. dumping .. in Cumbria ..."

[moof]

4. Understood, just want to make clear Nuclear waste is almost forever.