Response of the UK Government and the Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland to the Committee on Radioactive Waste management (CoRWM) Report on 'Geological Disposal of Higher Activity Radioactive Wastes'

The primary task of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) is to provide independent scrutiny of the Government’s and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s proposal, plans and programmes to deliver geological disposal, together with robust interim storage, as the long-term<br/>management option for the UK’s higher activity wastes. In June 2007 the Scottish Executive announced a policy of near-surface, near-site long-term storage rather than geological disposal. However, it continues to sponsor CoRWM on storage and related research and development matters.<br/>In June 2008, sponsor Ministers agreed CoRWM’s 2008/09 work programme. This included scrutiny of progress on the implementation of geological disposal through the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) programme as set out in the 2008 ‘Managing Radioactive Waste Safely’ (MRWS) White Paper.<br/>CoRWM’s report ‘Geological Disposal of Higher Activity Radioactive Waste’ was<br/>published on 31 July 2009 and focuses on those aspects of the implementation of geological disposal that CoRWM considers to be crucial in establishing confidence in potential host communities and in ensuring the technical robustness of the site selection process, the geological disposal facility design process and the development of the disposal system safety case. The full report is available on the CORWM website at www.corwm.org.uk. <br/>This document is the response of the UK Government and the Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland (hereafter referred to as ‘Government’) to the recommendations in the CoRWM report. As explained in the MRWS White Paper, the Welsh Assembly Government continues to play a full part in the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely programme. However, it reserves its position on geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste and has noted this report on geological disposal. In line with CoRWM’s Terms of Reference, this document will be made available along with CoRWM’s report to respective Parliaments and Assemblies.