RWMAC home
|
Terms of Reference
|
Membership
|
Reports & Publications
|
RSA93 Consultations
|
Press Releases
|
Contacting RWMAC
THERE IS NO MAGIC ANSWER FOR DEALING WITH UK RADIOACTIVE WASTE SAYS WATCHDOG
RWMAC Press Release - 3 December 2003
For many decades there has been the suggestion that the nuclear industry can largely solve the problem of long-term management of its radioactive waste by using chemical and nuclear technologies to transform dangerous, long-lived wastes into shorter-lived, less harmful forms. This process is known as partitioning and transmutation. However, a report of a study commissioned by Ministers from the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) finds that this cannot, in practice, provide the answer to the UK's radioactive waste problems.
In simple terms, partitioning is the separation of different radionuclides (radioactive isotopes of different chemical elements) from a mixture of the kind found in radioactive waste. Transmutation is the destruction of the separated radionuclides, notably the longer-lived and more harmful, into shorter-lived, less harmful species by subjecting them to nuclear bombardment from smaller nuclear particles known as neutrons or protons.
Among the difficulties noted by RWMAC for the partitioning and transmutation process in their report are:
-
its limitations (at best it could only deal with a small proportion of the UK's higher activity wastes);
-
its development requirements (which are demanding, uncertain of success and inevitably costly);
-
the need for new nuclear reactors and/or large particle accelerator systems, and new reprocessing plant, which could only be delivered through a long-term commitment to nuclear power.
Speaking of his Committee's findings, the RWMAC Chairman, Professor Charles Curtis said:
"At first sight the partitioning and transmutation concept is very attractive. It can be seen as the apparent answer to all our long-term radioactive waste management problems.
But our study has shown that we would be fooling ourselves if we think that the nuclear industry can simply conjure its long-term waste managements problems away through this means. We could spend very large amounts of money over long-time periods and end up with little except more waste to deal with. And to achieve this, we should have to commit to nuclear power and reprocessing of spent fuel in the long term. This is, I suspect, something that, at the present time, the UK Government would not be willing to do.
I believe that we shall be able to find safe ways of dealing with the long-term management of the UK's radioactive waste, but, as a result of this study, I do not believe partitioning and transmutation provides the answer".
Notes for Editors.
RWMAC is an independent expert body established to advise the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations for Scotland and Wales on policy and practices for the management of civil radioactive waste. Sponsoring Ministers asked the Committee to undertake its study of the partitioning and transmutation process.
UK Government and the Devolved Administrations are currently committed to assessing the options for the long-term management of the UK's radioactive waste under its "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely" programme. RWMAC sees its report as being an important contribution to that assessment.
Copies of these RWMAC reports are available from: DEFRA Publications, Admail 6000, London SW1A 2XX (e-mail defra@iforcegroup.com, each priced at £10).
Press enquiries should be made to:
RWMAC Secretariat
4/E4 Ashdown House,
123 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6DE
(telephone - Monday to Friday - 020 7082 8476/8484)
