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Nuclear Waste

Volume 976: debated on Thursday 17 January 1980

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asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give an estimate of the amount of nuclear waste likely to be produced from all power stations taking account of his announcement of 18 December; and how this compares with the present level of waste.

Something less than 1,000 cubic metres of concentrated high level waste in liquid form, produced from the reprocessing of power reactor fuel, are currently stored at Windscale. It is estimated that when the waste is glassified this volume will be reduced to about 200 cubic metres.High activity waste arising from the present nuclear programme, assuming a 25-year reactor life, is likely to produce another 700 cubic metres of glassified waste. On the same assumption, arisings from the recently announced reactor programme are estimated to produce a further 1,200 cubic metres of glassified waste.Figures for other wastes, excluding immediate disposals, are as follows:form, the cost per 1,000 British thermal units of all fuels widely used for home heating purposes within the United Kingdom, on 1 June for each of the years 1970 to 1979, and his estimate for 1980, such cost to be expressed (

a) in current cost terms, ( b) in ( a) as adjusted by changes in the retail price index, ( c) as a percentage each year of the cost of providing 1,000 British thermal units through the use of home heating oil, and ( d) taking the costs for each of the fuels to be 100 on 1 June 1970.