Waste Volumes and Radioactive Contents

 

Waste Type	Volume (cubic metres, when packaged)	radioactive content (terabecquerels at 1 April 2040)
high level waste	1,400	36 million
intermediate level waste	364,000	2.2 million
low level waste (unsuitable for disposal in Low Level Waste Repository	17,000	less than 100
Totals	382,400	38.2 million

 

 

For more details of legacy and committed wastes see  (www.nda.gov.uk/strategy/waste/waste-information.cfm).

 

 

 

Material	volume (cubic metres when packaged)	radioactive content (terabecquerels at 1 April 2040)
spent fuels	11,200	45 million
plutonium	3,300	4 million
uranium	80,000	3,000
totals	94,500	49 million

 

 

For more details of metrials that may be declared to be waste see  (www.nda.gov.uk/stategy/waste-information.cfm).

 

 

The volumes and radioactive content of wastes from a new nuclear power programme depend on the number of new power stations, their design, their operating life, and waste management methods (especially whether spent fuel is reprocessed). For its 2006 report, CoRWM made estimates based on a notional programme of ten new reactors. If spent fuel is not reprocessed (the current baseline assumption), there could be 40,000 - 60,000 cubic metres of spent fuel and intermediate level waste produced, with a radioactive content of over 200 million terabecquerels at the time of disposal.