The leadership of the United Kingdom must sustain its funding commitment for decommissioning of nuclear facilities even as it considers new opportunities for the nation’s atomic energy fleet, the Nuclear Industry Association said in a new report.
“There has been continued significant progress in decommissioning at sites across the UK since the last election, and it is important the commitment to continuing to advance decommissioning is maintained,” the civil nuclear trade group said. “Providing focus for the supply chain, facilitating innovation and enabling our expertise to be exported to global markets all help maximise value from decommissioning activity.”
The NIA urged Parliament to focus on six areas relative to the nation’s nuclear sector: stable investment in the energy sector, including nuclear research and development; coherent planning for the future of the nuclear industry; ensuring a “progressive” decommissioning approach; reaching out to young people, including through STEM education, to attract them to the nuclear industry; ensuring a smooth exit from the Eurotom nuclear research and training program as the U.K. leaves the European Union; and continued development of new nuclear technology.
Within the decommissioning segment, the trade group recommended:
- Sustained funding for the Nuclear Decommisioning Authority, the nondepartmental public body that oversees cleanup of the U.K. nuclear complex, with a emphasis on its biggest project, the Sellafield site in West Cumbria.
- Backing private firms in development of advanced technologies to speed the pace of decommissioning, both for the United Kingdom and globally.
- Ensure the stability both of the decommissioning segment and its supply chain.
- Move forward with development of the geological disposal facility that would provide the permanent home for U.K. nuclear waste, including sticking to existing schedules and promptly communicating information to communities being considered to house the facility.
