RISING sea levels could destroy a nuclear waste dump on the UK coast in as little as 500 years.
A report by the UK鈥檚 Environment Agency warned last week that the 1 million cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste stored at Drigg 鈥� low-lying ground less than 500 metres from the Cumbrian coastline 鈥� could leak if the sea level rose. If that happens, the risk of local people developing cancers would increase 100-fold. 鈥淭he potential for the destruction of the repository by coastal erosion means that the disposal of long-lived low-level waste on the site might be creating undue burdens on future generations,鈥� the report concludes.
Reactor sites next to the sea, including six in India and 13 in the UK, could also be vulnerable. 鈥淐limate change is now an issue that has to be taken into account when siting new facilities,鈥� says Phil Richardson, an expert on nuclear waste with Enviros Consulting in Leicestershire, UK. 鈥淐oastal sites used to be considered a good idea, but rising sea levels are bringing this assessment into question.鈥�
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