Research at Nuclear Waste Services

We commission scientific research and development, worth several million pounds a year, to support waste management.

Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) is a joint trading name of both LLW Repository Limited (LLWR) and Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM).

NWS is a division of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) which includes RWM and LLWR. NWS is not a legal entity but provides strategic oversight of the operation and development of these businesses through a management board governance structure

Nuclear Waste Services has responsibility for implementing the government’s policy for delivering a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) for the UK’s higher activity radioactive wastes.

Details of the expected nature and timing of planned generic research and development activities is outlined in our Science and Technology Plan. By ‘generic’, we mean those activities that can be undertaken without specific knowledge of the eventual host site for the geological disposal facility.

Science and Technology Plan 2020

PDF, 12.6 MB, 769 pages

As a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Nuclear Waste Services also participates in NDA’s Research and Development Programme.

Find out more about Research at NDA

Research Support Office

Our Research Support Office aims to:

  • deliver academic research outputs that align closely with Nuclear Waste Services’ needs
  • centrally manage research, delivering more coordinated and targeted research
  • improve contextual understanding and engagement
  • capitalise on economic opportunities from universities and other funding bodies to drive forward research

Research teams within our partner universities benefit from funding that enables them to develop the next generation of researchers. This community of scientists will have specialised knowledge of geological disposal of radioactive waste and the social issues that surround it. Having this knowledge and expertise coordinated across the UK’s academic institutions allows regulators and supply chain companies to tap into the latest research to inform their strategies.

Research Support Office website

An archive of previously published technical publications can be found by searching the National Archive.

These 2 documents provide a list of publications related to Geological Disposal. Links are provided where downloadable versions are available in the National Web Archive:

GDF Bibliography Summary 1983 to 2007

GDF Bibliography Summary 2007 to 2021

Technical publications are now published within the research section of GOV.UK to give people the opportunity to understand progress on various scientific and technical issues related to managing nuclear waste and geological disposal.

For further information, please see Research and statistics - GOV.UK or contact GDFEnquiries@nda.gov.uk

Issues Register

Activity to resolve issues previously raised through RWM’s Issues Register are included in the Science and Technology Plan. Engagement with stakeholders on various issues continues through various channels. An archive of the Issues Register webpages can be found in via The National Web Archives.

Since launching the Issues Management process, other channels and engagement opportunities have been put in place for stakeholders to raise queries and understand progress on various scientific and technical issues related to geological disposal.

For further information, please explore Nuclear Waste Services’ website or contact GDFEnquiries@nda.gov.uk

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