The Massive $83 Billion Nuclear Waste Disposal Facility: Is It Worth the Delay and Cost?

The proposed Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in Britain, aimed at storing the country’s growing amount of radioactive waste, is becoming increasingly expensive and time-consuming. The project has been delayed so long that it now requires tunneling through 36 square kilometers of rock to create a massive underground cave. This cave will contain radioactive waste accumulated over seven decades of civil nuclear electricity production.

According to estimates from scientists at the Nuclear Waste Service (NWS), the project will take more than 150 years to complete at a total cost of $83 billion. This cost surpasses other major construction projects in the UK, such as the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant and the HS2 London – Birmingham railway. The volume of radioactive waste alone requires space equal to 8 Albert Hall auditoriums.

The completed project will need to be even larger to account for additional waste generated by future nuclear power plants. Two potential locations are currently under consideration, one off the coast of Lincolnshire and the other off the coast of Cumbria. Workers will dig deep tunnels to create giant silos in impermeable clay and mudstone for the ultimate repository of nuclear waste.

Due to the long half-lives of radioactive materials like plutonium and uranium, long-term and costly measures like the GDF project must be taken to safely store nuclear waste. Without a place to store waste, the nuclear industry cannot be sustainable. Environmental organizations are organizing protests against the project, citing concerns about the impact on tourism in areas like Mablethorpe and Copeland. The debate over nuclear waste management and the construction of the GDF project continues to be a contentious issue in Britain.