UK Nuclear Clean-Up
Nuclear clean-up cost up to £56bn
BBC News
Decommissioning the UK's ageing nuclear power stations will cost about 56 billions of pounds (that is, approximately RM380 billion). In its first report, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estimates that £56bn will have to be spent cleaning up 20 sites. NDA wants to speed up the clean-up, including that of the ageing Magnox plants, from 125 years to 25 years. It has published consultation plans which will be open until 11 November, with a proposal finalised in December.
Nuclear legacy
NDA chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver said the £56bn estimate was higher than the £48bn figure the four-month-old agency had inherited. The higher estimate is based on the costs over the whole lifetime of the sites, calculated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority and British Nuclear Fuels. "It's important to recognise that we're talking about a programme that's running just over a century, so those changes in estimates don't seem very surprising," Sir Anthony said. He said the consultation document was the "first time anyone has had the opportunity to put together a coherent programme for all 20 of the sites".
'Huge risks'
Former environment minister Michael Meacher expressed concern at the cost of the decommissioning and questioned plans for future nuclear builds. "Nuclear is neither necessary nor desirable to meet our climate change targets. "It involves huge economic, military and environmental risks that should be avoided. The risks are the long-term risks of storage. "Despite strenuous efforts over the last 30 years no government has yet solved the problem of safe long-term storage." The NDA was set up in April this year under the Energy Act 2004 to take responsibility for the UK's nuclear legacy.
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