Low Level Waste Repository
Encyclopedia
Low Level Waste Repository (LLW Repository Ltd) is the UK's low-level radioactive waste repository located on the West Cumbrian coast
approximately six kilometres south east of the Sellafield
nuclear site at Drigg village
. The site stores waste from Sellafield, MoD sites, nuclear power stations, hospitals, universities, medical companies and the oil industry. It has been operating since 1959.
In early 2008, Cumbria County Council
granted permission for a new vault, vault 9, to be built. Vault 9 is expected to accommodate about 700 ISO steel containers per year and be able to hold 5,500 ISO steel containers in total meaning that it will have an operational life of about eight years. The vault opened for use in 2010.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
announced in March 2008 that UK Nuclear Waste Management Ltd (a consortium led by the Washington Division
of URS Corporation
and including Studsvik UK
, AREVA-NC
and Serco Assurance) had been awarded the contract for the management and operation of the Low Level Waste Repository.
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
approximately six kilometres south east of the Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
nuclear site at Drigg village
Drigg
Drigg is a village situated in the civil parish of Drigg and Carleton on the West Cumbria coast of the Irish Sea and on the boundary of the Lake District National Park in the county of Cumbria, England....
. The site stores waste from Sellafield, MoD sites, nuclear power stations, hospitals, universities, medical companies and the oil industry. It has been operating since 1959.
In early 2008, Cumbria County Council
Cumbria County Council
Cumbria County Council is the county council of Cumbria, a county in the North West of England. Established in 1974, following its first elections held a year before that, it is an elected local government body responsible for the most significant local services in the county, including county...
granted permission for a new vault, vault 9, to be built. Vault 9 is expected to accommodate about 700 ISO steel containers per year and be able to hold 5,500 ISO steel containers in total meaning that it will have an operational life of about eight years. The vault opened for use in 2010.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom formed by the Energy Act 2004. It came into existence in late 2004, and took on its main functions on 1 April 2005...
announced in March 2008 that UK Nuclear Waste Management Ltd (a consortium led by the Washington Division
Washington Group International
Washington Group International was an American corporation which provided integrated engineering, construction and management services to businesses and governments around the world. Based in Boise, Idaho, it had approximately 25,000 employees working in over 40 states and more than 30 countries...
of URS Corporation
URS Corp.
URS Corporation is an engineering design firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS is a full-service, global organization with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.-History:...
and including Studsvik UK
Studsvik
Studsvik is a supplier of nuclear analysis software and specialised services to the international nuclear industry, with 60 years of experience. The company is headquartered in Nyköping, Sweden and has five divisions: Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and Global Services. There...
, AREVA-NC
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
and Serco Assurance) had been awarded the contract for the management and operation of the Low Level Waste Repository.