Harwell

Harwell is located on a 91 hectare site in Oxfordshire and is the birthplace of the UK nuclear industry. Originally an RAF station, it became Britain’s Atomic Energy Research Establishment in 1946.

There were 14 experimental reactors on the site, with three remaining today, which have ceased operation and are in a period of care and maintenance.

Plans to redevelop Harwell into a Science and Innovation Park were agreed in 1992 when site decommissioning commenced.

The largest land remediation project Magnox has ever undertaken was completed in 2021 following the retrieval of 97,000 tonnes of material from a 4.2 hectare site that accommodated Harwell’s liquid effluent treatment plant (LETP).

On this page

Information is presented about wastes that existed at Harwell at the stock date (1 April 2022) and were forecast to arise after this date.

Waste Inventory Data for Harwell

For background information about this site owner, please refer to the Site Information Sheets in the 2022 UK Radioactive Waste Inventory report.

The following page presents information about radioactive wastes at the specific site selected.

Information about spent fuel and nuclear materials is presented separately in the relevant 2022 Inventory report. For official figures and essential information about how the data has been produced, always refer to the UKRWI 2022 published reports.

View all 2022 waste stream data sheets for Harwell

Waste groupings

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Activated metals
Activated other materials
Asbestos & other insulation materials
Concrete & rubble
Conditioned
Contaminated metals
Contaminated other materials
Desiccant & catalysts
Flocs
Fuel cladding & miscellaneous wastes
Fuel element debris
Fuels & uranium residues
Graphite
High level waste
Inorganic ion exchange materials
Miscellaneous contaminated materials
Mixed wastes
Oils & other fluids
Organic ion exchange materials
Plutonium contaminated materials
Raffinate
Sludges
Soil
Uranium & thorium contaminated material
Total
stored
waste
Future
arising
waste
Lifetime
packaged
waste

Waste categories

Showing results for data originating from Harwell.

Waste category Volume (m3)
Reported at 1 April 2022 Estimated future arisings Lifetime Total
HLW 0 0 0
ILW 895 729 1,620
LLW 653 5,450 6,100
VLLW 1,030 24,300 25,300
Total 2,580 30,500 33,000
Waste category Volume (m3)
Reported at 1 April 2022 Estimated future arisings Lifetime Total
HLW 0 0 0
ILW 981 1,610 2,590
LLW 824 5,060 5,880
VLLW 539 19,600 20,100
Total 2,340 26,300 28,600
Waste category Volume (m3)
Reported at 1 April 2022 Estimated future arisings Lifetime Total
HLW 0 0 0
ILW 1,280 3,300 4,570
LLW 864 5,170 6,040
VLLW 539 19,600 20,100
Total 2,680 28,100 30,700

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From 1 April 2022 there is a net decrease in the volume of HLW because accumulated highly active liquor is being conditioned, which reduces its volume by about two-thirds, and also because vitrified HLW is being exported to overseas customers.

Forecast waste arisings

Location

Site Owner

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority