On 28 October 2010 a report was published setting out the results of the high-level geological unsuitability screening for the Copeland and Allerdale areas of west Cumbria undertaken by the British Geological Survey (BGS). The geological screening was a desk-based study only, using currently available information and not involving new field investigations. It used basic high-level geological criteria, set out in the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) White Paper, to rule out areas that could not host the underground workings of a geological disposal facility for higher activity radioactive waste.
The study covered an area for which local authorities had expressed an interest in entering ‘no commitment’ discussions with Government about the siting process. Its purpose is to exclude from further consideration areas which would be clearly unsuitable to host the required underground workings and allow communities and Government to avoid unnecessary discussions in relation to such areas.
The study did not consider any non-geological factors and does not show where a facility would eventually be located. This is an early stage in the siting process and further, increasingly detailed, assessments applying more localised geological and other criteria will only be made IF a community decides to participate further.
A copy of the main report (with figures 3-14 as separate pdf files), the non technical summary and other information can be downloaded using the links below: