No nuclear disposal facility decision yet

SIR, – I refer to the article “Nucleus knowledge on show" (Press and Journal February 14) which reports the good news that around 20 staff will be employed at the archive near Wick Airport which will contain the UK nuclear archive and the Caithness Collection.

HANT (Highlands Against Nuclear Transport) notes that the archive will also fulfil an important role for the “future GDF (geological disposal facility) that is being developed for the UK", acting as a central depository for detailed waste records.

This is news to HANT as in a White Paper published in 2014 by the previous Department of Energy & Climate Change it stated that “the final decision to site a GDF in a community will not be taken until there has been a test of public opinion that demonstrates community support for development at a specific site".

To date no community has been identified or consulted and no agreement has been reached.

In both Finland and the US where similar facilities are being built they are behind schedule, hugely over budget, have not been licensed and engineers doubt if a facility that has to last 100,000 + years is geologically or technically possible as its never been done before.

So whilst it may be planned to deposit the waste records of a future GDF at Nucleus it won't be in the near future and maybe never.

HANT's view is that all nuclear waste should be stored above ground under constant monitoring and security which would retain and create jobs at all nuclear sites in the UK. Tor Justad, chairman of Highlands Against Nuclear Transport, Ord Terrace, Strathpeffer, Ross-shire