News : Geology seminar to be held in West Cumbria later this month
Geology seminar to be held in
Nuclear industry experts are set to attend a specially arranged geology seminar in
The seminar, at the Whitehaven Civic Hall, between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Monday, 20th June, has been organised by the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership in order to help its members, as well as the public, get a greater understanding of the issues surrounding geology in the area – and particularly the conclusions of the Nirex inquiry held in the 1990s.
The West Cumbria MRWS Partnership needs to do this because it must decide whether there are sufficient areas remaining in
Scientists have argued whether the findings of the Nirex inquiry meant that the whole of
However his view has been dismissed by the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CORWM). They have said: “Our position is that there is presently no credible scientific case to support the contention that all of
Although speakers for the seminar are still being finalised, confirmed speakers so far include a representative from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – the organisation responsible for delivering a geological disposal facility; Dr Jeremy Dearlove, the MRWS Partnership’s peer reviewer, who will provide an outline of Prof Smythe’s position; and Dr Adrian Bath, a member of the Criteria Proposals Group
Elaine Woodburn, current chair of the West Cumbria MRWS Partnership, said: “The Partnership has organised a geological seminar to take place in Whitehaven to help our members, as well as members of the public, to get a firmer understanding of the arguments involved as to whether there remains any suitable areas of West Cumbria where a geological disposal facility could be constructed.
“This seminar should help further our understanding of this hotly-debated key issue.”
The Government has asked for communities to volunteer to take part in its search for a location to build an underground repository to dispose of the nation’s higher-activity radioactive waste.
Copeland Borough Council, Allerdale Borough Council and Cumbria County Council expressed an interest in finding out more about the process without making any commitment to have it in the area. Even if West Cumbria does agree next year to take part in the search for a site, the councils can withdraw from the process up until the point where building work could begin – likely to be a decade or more from now.
The West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership is made up of all the local authorities in
Over the next few months, Partnership members will consider all of the information they have received throughout the process, including feedback from members of the public, and produce a draft report of its advice to the councils. Residents of
The Nirex Inquiry was held in 1997 following opposition to proposals by Nirex (now NDA) to construct a ‘rock characterisation facility’ at Sellafield. These plans for a rock characterisation facility were viewed as being a precursor to a geological disposal facility.
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For media enquiries please contact the Partnership’s communications advisor Paul Gardner or Ian Boydon at Osprey Communications on 01524-782086 or 077667906561
- 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 Council, the Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum), local trade unions, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Churches Together Council, Eden District Council, South Lakeland District Council, Carlisle City Council, the Lake District National Park Authority, the Cumbria Association of Local Councils, NuLeAF (the Nuclear Legacy in Cumbria, the Chamber of Commerce, Cumbria Tourism 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.
- The Government is looking for a community in the
- Taking part in discussions with the Government does not commit the Cumbrian authorities to hosting a deep geological repository and they can withdraw from the process at any point up until a time when construction would begin – estimated to be more than 10 years from now.