At 1 April 2022 the reported volume of VLLW was about 1,490 m3. 1,030 m3 of this was at Harwell and 261 m3 was at Hinkley Point A. All VLLW was in temporary storage awaiting treatment or disposal.
Table: VLLW at 1 April 2022 and estimated future arisings
Reported volumes, masses, packaged volumes and package numbers
|
At 1.4.2022 |
Reported volume (m3) (1) |
Reported mass (tonnes) (1) |
Packaged volume (m3) |
No of packages (2) |
|
Not yet packaged |
1,490 |
1,300 |
– |
– |
|
Already packaged |
0 |
0 |
0 |
– |
|
Future arisings |
2,750,000 |
2,800,000 |
2,610,000 |
– |
|
Total |
2,750,000 |
2,800,000 |
2,610,000 |
– |
(1) Volume and mass “not yet packaged” are for untreated or partly treated waste.
(2) As VLLW can be disposed to appropriately permitted landfill sites, no package numbers are collated for this waste category in the inventory.
The forecast future arisings of VLLW are about 2,750,000 m3. About 2,680,000 m3 (97%) of this volume is attributable to waste from the decommissioning of reprocessing and associated plants, waste storage and treatment plants, and site service facilities at Sellafield. However, there is a large uncertainty about how much of this will be managed as radioactive waste; current expectations are that about 70% of the material, which comprises concrete, brick and metal from building structures, may be out of scope of regulatory control. As decommissioning projects at the site are progressed and opportunities for further characterisation arise, the projected amounts of radioactive waste will continue to be refined. Forecast annual arisings of VLLW are on average about 10,200 m3 in the period up to 2049. Thereafter they increase due to planned decommissioning projects at Sellafield.