杏吧原创

DISMANTLING Britain鈥檚 nuclear reactors and treating or burying waste and
spent fuel will cost nearly 拢30 billion more than the industry had
bargained for, claims a new report. The shortfall will probably be met by
taxpayers, it warns.

To deal with all the wastes from today鈥檚 plants up to 2100, British Energy,
Magnox Electric, British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) and other nuclear companies are
putting aside 拢13.1 billion. But Mike Sadnicki and Gordon MacKerron of the
Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex claim the industry has
miscalculated.

They estimate the true bill to be 拢41.8 billion, and warn that it could
rise to as much as 拢70 billion. Although the companies have put aside
money for decommissioning reactors, the researchers claim that the industry has
not made sufficient provision for the medium and high-level waste that the
reactors create. 鈥淭he conventional wisdom of the nuclear industry is false,鈥�
they conclude.

Sadnicki and MacKerron calculate that the actual cost of burying high-level
radioactive waste will be 拢1.64 billion, compared to the industry鈥檚
estimate of 拢730 million. They also estimate that putting 100 tonnes of
plutonium鈥攄ue to be separated at Sellafield in Cumbria by 2020鈥攊nto
an underground repository will cost 拢2.3 billion. This is the first time
anyone has publicly costed the disposal of Britain鈥檚 plutonium. Simply
continuing to store it above ground at Sellafield will cost more than 拢70
million a year, they say.

The nuclear industry denies that it will be unable to pay for dealing with
its debris. BNFL argues that costs can be capped by combining plutonium with
uranium and burning it as mixed oxide fuel in nuclear power stations.