The Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) project in Britain is the most expensive and lengthy major infrastructure project, with an estimated cost of $83 billion and a projected completion time of over 150 years. Scientists at the Nuclear Waste Service (NWS) have been tasked with designing the project, which will require tunneling through 36 square kilometers of rock to create a massive underground cave to store radioactive waste accumulated over seven decades of electricity production in the civil nuclear sector.
The volume of radioactive waste alone requires space equal to 8 Albert Hall auditoriums, and the cave complex would need to be even larger to include additional tunnels, requiring the excavation of twice the volume of rock. The radioactive waste includes 110,000 tonnes of uranium, 6,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel, and around 120 tonnes of plutonium, most of which is stored at the Sellafield site in Cumbria.
British authorities are still deliberating on the location for the GDF, with potential sites narrowed down to two off the coast of Lincolnshire and Cumbria. The plan involves digging tunnels deep under the sea to create silos in impermeable clay and mudstone where the waste will be stored. However, experts in the field argue that managing nuclear waste sustainably and responsibly is essential for ensuring public safety and protecting future generations from its negative impacts.
Local environmental organizations are raising concerns about the potential GDF sites’ impact on tourism areas like Mablethorpe and Copeland. Protests against