Nuclear waste missing after ‘decades of failure’
Taxpayers face £9 billion bill to bring decaying power stations up to safe level
DECADES of poor record keeping has left hazardous and toxic waste from Britain’s decommissioned nuclear power stations currently unaccounted for, a damning new report has warned.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has now been left with the legacy of a “perpetual” lack of knowledge about the condition of the sites it is responsible for making safe, according to the report.
The Westminster Public Accounts Committee has blamed a “sorry saga” of massive failed contracts and “weak” government oversight for the problems, which will affect residents for years to come.
Nuclear sites including Dounreay, in Caithness, Chapelcross near Annan and the Hunterston B Power Station in Ayrshire will cost taxpayers nearly £9 billion just to get them to the care and maintenance stage of the decommissioning process.
The new document warns the process will have significant impacts on the lives of nearby residents.
Overall, the cost to the taxpayer will be around £132bn to decommission them and will not be completed for another 120 years, according to the report. The SNP
said the report was a warning “the UK Government should cease its obsession with nuclear power” and called on the Tories to “commit to scrapping any new nuclear projects”.
The NDA acknowledges that it still does not have full understanding of the condition of the 17 sites across its estate, according to the committee report.
Meg Hillier, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said: “The UK went from leading the world in establishing nuclear power to this sorry saga of a perpetual lack of knowledge about the current state of the UK’S nuclear sites.
“With a project of this length and cost we need to see clearer discipline in project management.”
Deputy chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-brown added: “Although progress has been made since our last report, incredibly, the NDA still doesn’t know even where we’re currently at, in terms of state and safety of the UK’S disused nuclear sites.
“The NDA, with stronger, better oversight from Government, must make a clear break with the incompetence and failures of the past and step up to maximise these assets, and the astronomical sums of taxpayers’ money it has absorbed, for the benefit of local communities and the post-covid
recovery of the UK economy as a whole.”
Its report said decommissioning of retired civil nuclear sites was an “afterthought” when the UK’S pioneering nuclear industry was established.
The NDA’S estimate of the cost has increased by between £1.3bn and £3.1bn since 2017, to between £6.9bn and £8.7bn.
The PAC said past experience with the NDA suggests these estimates will soon be out of date and costs may increase further.
The committee said the NDA was not doing enough to exploit the technical skills and new technologies in the nuclear industry, for the benefit of local communities or the UK economy.
In August it was revealed that the Hunterston nuclear power station will be closed next year, ahead of the expected timescale, following a string of safety issues in its reactors.
The site’s owners, EDF Energy, indicated that the plant would stop producing electricity in late 2021 – despite forking out more than £200 million to repair the reactor.
EDF’S other plant at Torness near Dunbar is expected to remain open until 2030 at the earliest.
The SNP’S energy spokeman, Alan Brown, said: “This is yet more evidence that the UK Government should cease its obsession with nuclear power and commit to scrapping any new nuclear power projects – including those announced last week – which could cost another £50bn. This is money that could be spent on cost-effective renewable energy projects.
“It also shines a light on the Tories’ incompetence that these costs had not been considered when they were falling over their feet to jump on the nuclear bandwagon.
“Nuclear energy simply cannot be delivered – and then decommissioned – without eye-wateringly high cost. We have already seen decommissioning costs spiral out of control.
“In these difficult economic times, the last thing people need is to see their money wasted on nuclear white elephants that are significantly more expensive than renewable options.”
An NDA spokesman said: “We welcome the Public Accounts Committee’s report and the scrutiny it brings on our work to provide value for money for the taxpayer.
“We are pleased that the committee recognises the inherent uncertainties and challenges involved in our mission to clean up 17 of the UK’S oldest nuclear sites and the progress being made.
“This includes increased learning on our sites, their facilities and the nature of the waste within them.
“Safety is our priority and we do not accept the committee’s suggestions that we may not understand the safety of our sites. Our work is tightly and independently regulated to ensure we uphold the highest standards of safety.
“Our focus remains on ensuring that we deliver this work of national strategic importance safely, effectively and efficiently.