FAQs

4. How is this different to the Nirex process in the 1990s?

This process is very different to the Nirex experience in the 1990s. The Government is implementing a siting process based around voluntarism, where we can withdraw from the process until a late point when underground operations and construction are due to begin. The discussions, and the geological screening, are treating all of West Cumbria equally to begin with, rather than focussing around Sellafield.

Only once this geological screening is complete will the area start to be narrowed down. If a formal decision to participate in the siting process is then taken, further work will identify potential sites in the areas that have not been screened out. The Partnership is keen to ensure that the whole process is open and transparent.

Hasn’t West Cumbria already been found to be geologically unsuitable following the Nirex process?

Nirex did not look at the whole of West Cumbria in detail. In 1994, after carrying out initial geological testing, Nirex sought planning permission from Cumbria County Council to construct an underground rock characterisation facility at a site near Sellafield to enable more detailed investigations to take place in that area. This application was rejected by Cumbria County Council and the then Secretary of State.

There were a range of reasons why the Nirex planning application and the subsequent appeal were rejected. These included the technical and scientific uncertainties and deficiencies in Nirex’s application as well as the process that Nirex used to find a possible site. Therefore, the Government say they do not believe the outcome of the work by Nirex means that the area near Sellafield considered at that time should be excluded from the screening process or treated differently from any other part of the UK which makes an expression of interest at this stage.

Significant advances have been made on the science of geological disposal in the UK and overseas since the Nirex application was rejected. In addition, examination, modelling and understanding of geological processes have advanced significantly since the 1980s and 1990s and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority therefore expects a more comprehensive scientific analysis of potential geology to be carried out in the future than has been carried out in the past.

Should a decision to participate be taken, the geological suitability of any candidate site would need to be thoroughly examined at later stages in the process. The UK’s independent safety and environmental regulators would also have to be satisfied that a disposal facility was safe before they would permit it to be constructed and operated.

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