British parliament ministers in a late-session action approved a law that would effectively take the decision of where to store nuclear waste out of the hands of local governments.
The location of nuclear power repositories can now be decided by the secretary of state for energy, the Guardian reported.
The review process will include input from local planning boards, but would not be bound to their decisions. “Local councils and communities can object to details of the development, but cannot stop it altogether,” the newspaper said.
The law, some analysts say, is really geared towards moving forward with new reactor construction projects. With voters demanding a solution to the problem of nuclear waste, the new potential for faster government action on the waste issue is intended to placate voters, who may then be more approving of nuclear plant projects.
The Labor party abstained from voting in what was considered a late-session bill that caught environmental groups and some ministers unawares.
Zac Goldsmith, a minister who voted against the measure said, “If there had been a debate, there could have been a different outcome: most of the MPs who voted probably didn’t know what they were voting for.”
Britain has 4.5 to 5 million cubic meters of radioactive waste. It has been estimated that cleanup efforts at the controversial Sellafield nuclear repository alone will cost over $104 billion.
The Sellafield site, which has been rife with complaints of mismanagement, involves the Windscale nuclear power station, which is being decommissioned, and the Calder Hall four-unit decommissioning, which is taking place nearby.
It costs $4.5 billion each year to run the repository, two-thirds of which is paid for by taxpayers, the newspaper said.