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physicsworld.com
UK
Cumbria rejects hosting nuclear-waste repository
The UK government will have to
look elsewhere to store its mounting
nuclear waste after plans were
rejected to assess sites in Cumbria
for a £12bn underground nuclearwaste
repository. On 30 January
seven of the 10 members of Cumbria
County Council cabinet voted
against a proposal to build an underground
laboratory in the region that
would have acted as a testbed for a
full-scale storage. District councils
in west Cumbria are now hoping that
the veto – the second in 14 years –
will be overruled by the government.
The UK has been generating
nuclear waste since its first nuclear
power station fired up in 1956. Since
then the country has accumulated
some 470 000 m 3 of waste, which
could remain dangerously radioactive
for up to a million years. Most
of the high- and intermediate-level
waste is currently in temporary
above-ground storage at the Sellafield
nuclear- reprocessing site in
west Cumbria. The UK government,
however, would like to find a
permanent place to store the waste
because of fears that the storage at
Sellafield is deteriorating. Indeed,
last year the UK’s National Audit
Office reported that Sellafield’s
storage posed an “intolerable risk”
to people and the environment.
Cumbria has been seen as a possible
site to permanently store the
waste underground at depths of
up to 1 km because of the existing
nuclear facilities at Sellafield. However,
some geoscientists are opposed
to underground storage in the region
because it is thought to contain
unstable geology such as rock fractures,
which can allow the spread of
waste-leeching groundwater. There
are also concerns that underground
waste would threaten tourism at the
nearby Lake District National Park.
Stuart Haszeldine, a geoscientist
at the University of Edinburgh who
has investigated Cumbria’s suitability
for underground nuclear-waste
storage, told Physics World that he
was pleased with the outcome. “It
was quite unexpected to win,” he
says. “I didn’t think Cumbria County
Council would have such good judge-
Risk concerns
Cumbria in the UK is
already home to the
Sellafield nuclear
reprocessing site,
which closely
monitors its
environmental
impact, but now the
region’s council has
rejected a proposed
£12bn underground
nuclear-waste
repository.
Space science
Satellite sets path for South Korean space missions
South Korea has succeeded in launching
a satellite into orbit after months of
delays and following two failed attempts
in 2009 and 2010. The probe – dubbed
the Science and Technology Satellite
2C (STSAT-2C) – took off at the end of
January from the Naro Space Center,
located around 480 km south of Seoul.
Scientific payloads aboard the probe
include an instrument to monitor
radiation levels as well as an altimeter
to provide precise information about the
satellite’s orbit.
Shortly after lift-off, the Korean
ministry of education, science and
technology announced that STSAT-2C
had successfully deployed in a low-Earth
orbit, while contact with ground stations
was made 11 hours later, confirming
the target orbit of 297 km by 1512 km.
“[The rocket] proved that Korea has
the ability to launch a space vehicle.
This space technology represents
the [high] standard of our country’s
science and technology,” Yeong Hak
Kim, a government official at the Korean
ministry of education, science and
technology, told Physics World.
The probe was launched by Korea’s
Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-1), also
known as Naro, which is a two-stage
carrier rocket that, when fully loaded,
stands 33 m tall and has a mass of
around 140 000 kg. The first stage of the
launch vehicle was designed and built
by Russia’s Khrunichev State Research
and Production Space Center, while
the second stage was developed by the
The project is a
demonstration
of South
Korea’s
growing space
prowess
News & Analysis
ment.” Haszeldine believes that
other parts of the UK would be more
geologically suitable for the con-
struction of an underground storage
facility, such as around the defunct
nuclear power station in Oldbury,
near Bristol.
Many, however, are frustrated by
the vote’s outcome. UK energy secretary
Edward Davey says it was “disappointing”,
adding that the decision
will “not undermine prospects
for new nuclear power stations”.
Meanwhile, council leaders from
Copeland – the district that hosts
Sellafield – and from neighbouring
Allerdale have written to the government
to ask if there is still a way that
west Cumbria can be considered for
long-term nuclear-waste storage.
Councillor Elaine Woodburn of
Copeland told Physics World that
more than two-thirds of Copeland
residents wanted to see west Cumbria
reconsidered, and that some
geological experts would like to see
a more detailed investigation. “The
impact of hosting over 70% of this
country’s waste is felt economically,
environmentally and socially,” says
Woodburn. “Whether it stays or
goes, it affects us, so we need to be
part of the solution. Whether [that]
solution is in Copeland, I don’t know;
we don’t have the facts to allow that
decision to be taken.”
Jon Cartwright
Korea Aerospace Research Institute.
The immediate scientific value of
the satellite will be relatively small
with the project being more of a
demonstration of South Korea’s growing
space prowess. Indeed, North Korea’s
apparent success in launching a longrange
rocket in January put pressure
on Seoul to ensure that KSLV-1’s space
flight went to plan. Both countries on
the Korean peninsula are now members
of the exclusive group of 11 nations that
have independently launched satellites
from their own territory. However, South
Korea will still have to make significant
progress before comparisons can be
drawn with other space-faring nations
such as China and Japan.
Toby Brown
Physics World March 2013 11
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