Press release - 10 Jun 2009

SITA UK announces plans to apply for a Radioactive Substances Act disposal authorisation for Clifton Marsh

Leading recycling and waste management company SITA UK is proposing to apply for a Radioactive Substances Act (RSA) disposal authorisation for its Clifton Marsh landfill site near Preston.

The Clifton Marsh landfill site has been successfully accepting Low Level and Very Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLW and VLLW) for disposal since 1986, under authorisations held by the waste producers.

Recently, the Environment Agency - the national regulator - has changed its policy and in future waste site operators, like SITA UK, wishing to dispose of VLLW and LLW will need their own disposal authorisations.

In addition to continuing to accept VLLW and LLW from its existing customers, SITA UK is proposing to seek authorisation to accept VLLW and LLW from a broader range of waste producers.

These disposals are strictly controlled on site where they follow a rigorous disposal procedure. The process is also fully regulated and stringently monitored by the Environment Agency.

The site will also continue to accept a wide range of other general waste types including household and commercial materials. This general household and commercial waste will continue to make up over 90 per cent of the waste disposed of at the site.

Phil Holland, Decommissioning Development Manager for SITA UK said: "The company has an excellent track record in handling this type of waste on site for the last 22 years and has well-established safety and security procedures to ensure it is disposed of appropriately at all times. We maintain extremely high technical standards and are highly respected in the industry for the professional service we provide. The very low level and low level waste materials make up a very small proportion of the waste at Clifton Marsh where they represent a very low level of risk, and we don’t see the proportion of these wastes increasing significantly in the future."

"We are still at a very early stage in developing our current plans, but we are now making contact with local stakeholders including politicians, community representatives and others so they are fully aware of our proposals and have an opportunity to comment."

The company is hosting two public exhibitions to explain its proposals and give people a chance to comment before any application is submitted. The exhibitions will take at Freckleton Methodist Hall on Monday 6th July (1pm – 8pm) and Tuesday 7th July (10am – 4pm).

The main source of the low activity wastes buried at Clifton Marsh, which is around 10 kilometres to the west of Preston and immediately to the north of the River Ribble, is the nearby Springfields Fuels complex, which employs nearly 2,000 people. A small volume of waste also arrives from the Capenhurst site in Cheshire. The majority of these wastes come from operations at these sites, which manufacture fuel for nuclear power stations. In recent years, wastes from decommissioning redundant facilities on these sites have also been disposed of at Clifton Marsh.

In future, SITA UK is proposing to dispose of VLLW and LLW materials from a wider range of nuclear facilities, principally in the north west.

These wastes will typically comprise building rubble, soils and steel items such as framework, pipework and reinforcement materials from the dismantling, demolition and clean up of facilities at nuclear sites. Other components include contaminated equipment and protective clothing from facilities where they handle radioactive materials, and wastes. Small volumes of materials may come from laboratories and hospitals, which also produce radioactive wastes.

The site does not and will not accept any intermediate or high level radioactive wastes or liquid waste of any kind.

Rob Scott from SITA UK’s nuclear consultants Nuvia, said: "This application is in line with the government’s radioactive waste policy, which is that controlled burial of radioactive waste from nuclear sites in a conventional landfill is acceptable, as long as it is proved to be safe and the best environmental option and is fully authorised and approved by the regulator, which in this case is the Environment Agency."

He added: "Planned decommissioning of nuclear installations will generate significant quantities of LLW and VLLW, such as building rubble and soil. It is now clear that the continued disposal of this low hazard waste to the highly engineered national Low Level Waste Repository, near Drigg in West Cumbria, is not sustainable and is very expensive for the tax payer. This means that alternative solutions have to be found."