Consultation on short listed sites - including AWE - to store radioactive nuclear submarine waste

The MOD issued a recent statement confirming the public consultation will run from November 14 until February 20, 2015, including a series of exhibitions and workshops close to all five sites, plus two national workshops.
Shortlisted sites, which already hold radioactive materials, include West Berkshire’s Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield, owned by MOD and run by AWE plc, where the county’s nuclear deterrent, Trident, is manufactured and maintained.
The other sites under consideration include Sellafield in west Cumbria, and Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire, both owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Capenhurst in Cheshire, which is run by Capenhurst Nuclear Services.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, said when the submarines in the Royal Navy fleet reach the end of their lives, “we need to dispose of them in a way that is safe, secure and environmentally sound.
“We value the views of those who have something to say about the submarine dismantling project. All of them will be considered properly as part of our decision-making process.
“After consultation we will publish a report on our findings and after we have selected a site, we will explain why we reached that decision.”
The submarine dismantling project will oversee the disposal of 27 Royal Navy nuclear submarines that are due to have left Naval service by the mid 2030’s and be defuelled, including 19 submarines that have already left service and are stored afloat at Rosyth and Devonport.
The submarines can only be completely dismantled once reactor components, which are categorised as radioactive waste, have been removed. The initial dismantling process will support up to 60 skilled jobs.
The site chosen will be used for interim storage of reactor components until after 2040, when the UK Geological Disposal Facility is planned to come into operation.