Building pride in Cumbria

Low Level Waste facilities and proposals in Cumbria

NuLeAF seminar 22 March 2011

Richard EvansCumbria County Council

Building pride in Cumbria

Lessons learnt and questions• Uncertainty about what you’re committing to.

How did we end up with the UK’s national LLW facility?

• Incremental proposals.• Inventory, timescale and need for facilities? • What’s storage, what’s disposal?• Need LDF policies.• How do you deal with perception issues?

Building pride in Cumbria

Scene setter - is this your image of Cumbria?

Building pride in Cumbria

or is it this?

“A county that has to confront enduring problems of social and economic decline that are unrivalled in the UK.

Large parts of the county have a ravaged and vulnerable economy and it is the only county in the UK that is experiencing economic decline.”

The first Cumbria Community Strategy

Building pride in Cumbria

Scene setter• Cumbria has a record going back to WW2 as the

centre of the British nuclear industry.• Weapons programme.• Calder Hall the world’s 1st civil nuclear power station.• Most of country’s legacy of higher activity wastes is

stored at Sellafield.• Low Level Waste Repository.• The only area to agree to participate in the search for

a deep geological disposal facility (MRWS).

Building pride in Cumbria

What we already have

Building pride in Cumbria

Sellafield

• On site Calder Landfill Extension Segregated Area (CLESA).

• Formerly for inerts, then engineered containment for VLLW -120,000m3 remaining capacity.

Building pride in Cumbria

Studsvik metal recycling, Lillyhall• Until half way through the planning application

process considered to require only EA permit.• Then HSE decided a Nuclear Site Licence was

needed – conflict with Allerdale BC’s planning policy.

• 77 objections, 2 supporters.• £9M investment, up to 30 jobs. Operational

September 2009.

Building pride in Cumbria

Building pride in Cumbria

Building pride in Cumbria

Building pride in Cumbria

Studsvik planning issues• West Cumbria one of the most relaxed areas in

the country re nuclear issues.

• General support for increase in skills for the nuclear industry and for waste hierarchy.

• But very serious concerns about economic and social impacts due to perceptions of any type of radioactive waste.

• On one of our major industrial estates.

Building pride in Cumbria

The Low Level Waste Repository, near Drigg.

Building pride in Cumbria

Proposals we know about

Building pride in Cumbria

Current LLW proposals • Environmental Permitting application to dispose

of VLLW at Lillyhall landfill, Workington.CCC is advised planning permission not needed.

• Planning application for a purpose built LLW/VLLW disposal facility at the Keekle Head former opencast coal site. County Council enforcement action to secure restoration of the site.

• Imminent proposals at the Low Level Waste Repository.

Building pride in Cumbria

KEEKLE HEAD

SELLAFIELD

LLWR

Building pride in Cumbria

Lillyhall Env. Permit application• Disposal of solid, high volume, very low level

waste (HV-VLLW) from nuclear sites, to 2031. • Burial alongside non-radioactive controlled

wastes - up to 26,000 m3/year HV-VLLW out of estimated 67,000 m3/year total disposals.

• Maximum disposal 582,000 m3 HV-VLLW.• Site proposed for additional landfill capacity in

MWDF. 1993 planning permission requires restoration by 2014.

Building pride in Cumbria

Lillyhall landfill