Plans by Magnox to import packaged intermediate level nuclear waste for storage at its power station at Bradwell have moved forward after Essex County Council rejected the need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
The nuclear power operator wants to import the material, which would include fuel element debris and radioactive sludge, from its Sizewell and Dungeness power stations and store it at the existing intermediate level waste (ILW) facility at Bradwell. It would remain there until the opening of a geological disposal facility by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, though this is unlikely to be before 2040.
The company wants to remove the planning restriction imposed by the council in 2004, which approved the Bradwell ILW store on condition that it would be used exclusively for the storage of the site’s waste. In a letter to property consultants Bilfinger GVA outlining its screening opinion, the council’s planning department stated: ‘Based on the consideration of both the criteria within schedule 3 of the [EIA] regulations and national planning practice guidance, it is considered that EIA would not be required.’
Magnox, which operates 12 UK sites, has yet to lodge a formal planning application.
