Boreholes proposed for UK's nuclear waste

This is the claim of Sheffield University’s Prof Fergus Gibb who has co-authored a study that sets out a design for a new way of permanently disposing of high-level radioactive waste deep underground in boreholes.

“These could be used alongside or separate from a much smaller-cheaper mined repository which is needed for the huge volume of intermediate-level wastes,” he said.

Q&A: Dealing with Britain’s nuclear waste?

The UK has accumulated around 248,000m³ of radioactive waste with over 95 per cent of its radioactivity arising from 1,390m³ (0.56 per cent), which is categorised as high-level waste.

The government’s current plan is to bury the waste at a depth of a few hundred metres in a geological disposal facility (GDF) if, and when, a geologically, politically and socially suitable site is found.

It is estimated that a GDF will cost over £13bn, could not be available before 2040 at the earliest and would not be able to take any high-level waste before 2080. It would then remain operational and open for over 150 years.