2019 Inventory for Geological Disposal
Overview of waste materials designated for disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF)
Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales
Documents
Details
RWM has updated its records of the quantities and types of waste that are designated for geological disposal.
The Inventory for Geological Disposal (IGD) is based on the latest UK Radioactive Waste Inventory (UK RWI), which is published every 3 years by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The UK RWI covers every kind of radioactive waste produced in the country, ranging from the lightly contaminated to the longer-lived, more hazardous materials.
A Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) is required for the longer-lived, more hazardous kinds of radioactive wastes. By volume, these represent a small proportion of the materials listed in the UK RWI (less than 10%) but contain the highest levels of radioactivity.
These higher-activity wastes are all treated and placed in secure, robust containers for safe storage at sites around the UK until a GDF is ready. Sources of radioactive waste, which has been produced since the 1940s, include electricity generating, medical treatments, research, defence and industrial processes.
Quantities of waste are subject to change and the IGD is reviewed on a regular basis. The implications of any changes are taken into account through RWM’s GDF design, which is outlined in a collection of comprehensive reports, the Generic Disposal System Safety Case.
The IGD shows that the estimated packaged volume of waste and materials in the inventory for geological disposal totals approximately 750,000 cubic metres. This is equivalent to around 70% of the volume of Wembley stadium.
Changes to the inventory since the last update, published in 2018, are small and the impacts are as follows:
- Adjustment of up to +2% to the GDF footprint (host rock dependent) as described in the illustrative generic GDF designs
- Slight changes to the phasing of waste emplacements during the operational programme
The conclusions of RWM’s 2016 generic Disposal System Safety Case are unaffected. Once a location is identified and endorsed by a willing community, the generic designs will be further adapted for the specific conditions of the site and its geology.
The IGD, drawn from the UKRWI, comprises 3 reports:
- The main report describing key features of the latest IGD
- The report setting out differences from the previous version
- The report describing the impact of any changes for RWM’s generic Disposal System Safety Case which outlines, over a series of volumes, all the safety features of a GDF
The previous 2016 Inventory for Geological Disposal was published in 2018.