News : Cumbrians given chance to find out more about the Government’s search for an underground radioactive waste facility
A major communications and engagement programme is being launched in Cumbria to give people the chance to find out about the Government’s search for somewhere to build an underground repository for the country’s higher activity radioactive wastes.
The West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership is looking at whether West Cumbria should take part in the search for a site, without any commitment to eventually host a geological disposal facility.
The start of the communications and engagement programme follows the Government’s publication of a report by the British Geological Survey (BGS) on the geology of Copeland and Allerdale and up to 5 kilometres offshore. The study was commissioned by the Government to screen out areas where it would definitely not be possible to put a repository.
Councillor Tim Knowles, the Chairman of the West Cumbria MRWS Partnership and the Cumbria County Council Cabinet member responsible for environment, says: “Now that the BGS report has been published we want as many as people as possible to get involved in helping to make the decisions about this important issue. We hope people will take some time to look at the information we are providing and ask questions so they can help us as community representatives come to an informed view on what should happen next.”
A newsletter will be distributed to all homes in West Cumbria and there will also be information in the media and other publications, as well as in places like local libraries.
A series of Community Drop-In Events across the county will include an exhibition and give people a chance to talk to members of the Partnership. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the BGS will also be there to answer questions about government policy and technical issues.
There is also a pack with information and a DVD which people can use to arrange a group to discuss some of the key issues and give the Partnership their views. To request a pack email your name and address to helenf@3kq.co.uk or phone 0800 048 8912.
More information can be found on the Partnership’s new website www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk. It is also possible to contact the Partnership by calling a free helpline on 0800 048 8912 or by emailing contact@westcumbriamrws.org.uk
Commenting on the report by the BGS, Tim Knowles said: “This is just a very early study, which was required by the Government before we gave any further consideration to West Cumbria taking part in the process to find somewhere to locate a repository.
“Much more detailed investigations would have to take place before we could have any real idea where a repository could actually be located. But this work would only be carried out if we decide to take any further part in this process.
“We need to gather a lot more information and make sure we know what the public thinks before we can make that decision. It does however give us, as community representatives, useful information about which areas are definitely ruled out for any underground facility.”
The Partnership appointed two independent geological experts to peer review the BGS report so that the community could have confidence in the way it was produced. They were Dr Jeremy Dearlove from FWS Consultants Ltd and Professor Agust Gudmundsson from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway University of London.
Dr Dearlove said “The BGS report provides a comprehensive summary of currently available information on the geology of the West Cumbrian Partnership area that clearly rules out areas that definitely could not host a geological disposal facility for obvious geological reasons.”
The Government is looking for a community in the UK to volunteer to have a repository. Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council decided to take part in early discussions about this process on behalf of West Cumbria because a large amount of the country’s radioactive waste is already stored in the area at Sellafield.
The Councils set up the West Cumbria MRWS Partnership which includes organisations such as Churches Together in Cumbria, the Lake District National Park Authority, the National Farmers’ Union and the Cumbria Association of Local Councils.
The Partnership’s role is to advise the Councils on whether West Cumbria should take part in the Government’s search for somewhere to locate a repository. Even if that happens, the Councils would still have a right to withdraw from the process up until the point when work could start on the underground facilities, probably more than a decade from now.
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For media enquiries please contact the Partnership’s Communications Adviser Paul Gardner at Osprey Communications on 01524-782086 or 07766-906561
www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk
Notes to editors
Further information about the BGS report is available from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Please contact 0300 068 5223.
In addition to Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council there are a range of other organisations making up the partnership, including Barrow Borough Advisory Forum), local trade unions, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Churches Together Council, Eden District Council, South Lakeland District Council, the Lake District National Park Authority, the Cumbria Association of Local Councils, NuLeAF (the Nuclear Legacy in Cumbria, the Chamber of Commerce and the West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group.
A number of other organisations attend as ‘observing members’ including Government departments, the Isle of Man Government, CoRWM (Committee on Radioactive Waste Management), the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the safety and environment regulators.