Stocks of liquid high-level radioactive waste at the Sellafield plant in
Cumbria have grown so large that Britain鈥檚 nuclear watchdog is taking legal
action to reduce them. The waste must be kept cool as otherwise it could escape
accidentally. Now, British Nuclear Fuels, which runs Sellafield, will have to
reduce its stocks over the next 15 years from 1575 to 200 cubic metres by
turning it into glass. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is threatening to
halt production of the waste if BNFL doesn鈥檛 comply. 鈥淭his is a challenging
target but we are confident that we can meet it,鈥 says Phil Hallington of
BNFL.
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