NWS
Nuclear Waste Services
Mr Alan Hodge
Major Capital Programmes, Geological Disposal Facility, Senior Engineering Manager.
Nuclear Waste Services
Building 329 West, Thomson Avenue, Harwell , Didcot, Oxfordshire
United Kingdom, 0X11 0GD
Phone: +44(0)1925 947 167
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) brings together into one organisation the long-established expertise of site operator Low-Level Waste Repository Limited, Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) developer Radioactive Waste Management Limited and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group’s Integrated Waste Management Programme.
 
We are part of the NDA group, which is undertaking the biggest clean-up project in Europe over many decades. Nuclear Waste Services is integral to this environmental clean-up mission, as we work to provide permanent answers to our country’s nuclear waste. Nuclear Waste Services is charged with developing a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) for the permanent disposal of higher activity radioactive wastes. This major capital programme is a strategic imperative and represents one of the UK’s largest environmental and infrastructure programmes.
 

We are currently within our Tranche 2 and progressing site selection utilising our illustrative concepts augmented with the soon to be progressing non-intrusive and later a DCO for deep borehole investigations ahead of site down selection 2025/26.  We will then progress into Tranche 3 and build on the information base with design and safety case work and our statutory consents such as DCO prior to construction commencement in Tranche 4 which will necessarily be underpinned by an accepted nuclear and environmental operational safety case and a post closure safety case.  Our milestone for first waste emplacement will be informed by both characterisation and the initial construction timeline to get to and build the first disposal areas and supporting above and below ground infrastructure and is expected to be between 2050 and 2057.  The facility will then go into Tranche 5 with a combined construction and operation programme for around 130 years creating a network of 300-400km of tunnels and disposal areas within a disposal footprint of 16-20km2 within an area of 4km x 6km before moving into Tranche 6 closure stages.  A significant undertaking with a published cost range of £23-50Bn and an objective to reduce the carbon content so far as is reasonably practicable.