Controversial plans to create an underground facility for radioactive waste would create up to 4,000 jobs in the first 25 years, a new report says.
The 11-page report, published by Nuclear Waste Services – which is the project’s developer – looks at the workforce and skills needed for a community to host a Geological Disposal Facility, also known as a GDF.
It says the facility is estimated to generate 2,000 jobs in any given year over its 175-year lifespan and “could and should” be created locally. It said it was committed to training, support and roles for the local community.
Currently, three areas in West Cumbria – mid-Copeland, South Copeland and Allerdale – have set up community partnerships to investigate if they would have a suitable site for the facility.
The partnerships’ role includes facilitating discussions between the community and the GDF developer and ensuring that the community has the relevant information it needs when considering the possibility of hosting a GDF.
If a suitable site is found – a process which could take 10-15 years – a decision to develop a GDF could not be taken until the community in the electoral wards directly affected has had a say and taken a positive Test of Public Support. The GDF programme requires both a suitable site and a willing community. Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire has also established a community partnership.
The plans have drawn huge criticism and anger from anti-nuclear campaigners, but the Government says a GDF is the solution to house hazardous radioactive waste.
Karen Wheeler, deputy chief executive of Nuclear Waste Services, says in the report: “Developing a GDF to dispose of our most hazardous radioactive waste will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects the UK has ever seen. This highly engineered facility will generate long-term opportunities for the eventual host community, its local economic region and beyond.
“It will also make a major contribution to the environment by safely disposing of waste which otherwise would have to be stored and maintained for thousands of years above ground.”
The report refers to plans in Sweden for a GDF. It says: “Residents in the local communities had consistently returned strong votes in support of the project.
The decision means that Sweden’s largest and most important environmental protection project is currently progressing to the construction stage, triggering investments of over £1.5 billion, which will create around 1,500 employment opportunities in the region.
“When fully developed, sometime in the 2080s, the repository will have space for more than 6,000 canisters of spent fuel.”
A spokesman for Nuclear Waste Services added: “The report provides a national picture, and at this early stage in the process, is not specific to any region. Building on this generic review, NWS is commissioning further detailed analyses to understand requirements for specific regions.”
