Conceptual design of an underground radioactive waste repository

Between 1989 and 1997, Britain's nuclear waste management agency Nirex developed a comprehensive design for an underground radioactive waste repository next to the BNFL Sellafield works in Cumbria. Using a network of rock tunnels up to 1 km deep, the facility was intended to accommodate up to 275 000 m 3 of intermediate and low-level nuclear waste. However, the project was halted when a planning application for an underground rock characterization laboratory—to confirm the suitability of the site—was rejected. This paper explains the historical Sellafield design—further development of generic design solutions for alternative sites will build on this work.