Cumbria could be only option for nuclear disposal
Nuclear Waste ServicesCumbria could be the only area left in the search for a new nuclear disposal site, councillors have been told.
Members of Cumberland Council's nuclear issues board were given an update on the search to pin down a site to build a geological disposal facility (GDF) on Monday.
Three areas had previously been shortlisted by government body Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) - Mid Copeland and South Copeland in Cumbria and Lincolnshire.
Councillors were told that Lincolnshire County Council plans to withdraw, however, the authority is due to meet in June after local elections, when the result could signal a change in a new council's intention.
Nuclear waste would be stored at the GDF beneath up to 1,000m (3,300ft) of solid rock until its radioactivity had naturally decayed.
Earlier this month Lincolnshire County Council said it would pull out of talks unless it received "significant" further information about the plan.
Two surface areas of focus had been identified by NWS in Mid Copeland, east of Sellafield and east of Seascale.
In South Copeland, land west of Haverigg had been chosen.
The Copeland area is already home to Sellafield, where the vast majority of the UK's radioactive nuclear waste is stored, as well as the world's largest stockpile of plutonium.
Councillor Bob Kelly, a Labour representative for Millom, said it was accepted that the preferred site would be in the Copeland area.
He said that the nuclear waste could not be left where it was and the preferred option would be to store it at a safe site.
Kelly said: "I think Cumberland Council should have a role in how that takes place."
The nuclear waste disposal site would need community support, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
NWS previously said construction would only start when a potential community had confirmed its "willingness" to host the facility.
Richard Griffin of NWS told members that while the process was at a very early stage, electoral ward boundaries had to be used.
He added: "It's too early to say what wards would be affected."