Solving the global decommissioning challenge with asbestos waste

With 200 reactors due to be shut down in the next 25 years, we face a worldwide decommissioning challenge that includes hundreds of thousands of tonnes of asbestos and asbestos contaminated waste with considerable uncertainty around disposal routes. In the UK alone, asbestos and asbestos containing waste is expected to exceed 47,000 tonnes 1 from 17 historic nuclear sites and 10,000 plants and buildings between 2013 and 2130 2 . With finite capacity within the low level waste (LLW) repository and hazardous waste landfill sites, escalating costs associated with disposal and increasing environmental and social pressures, there is a growing need to find alternative disposal methods. A worldwide challenge 1 LAW Asbestos and Asbestos Containing Waste Gate B (Preferred Options) Study, February 2016 (http://llwrsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NWP_REP_106-LLW-Asbestos-and-Asbestos-Containing-Waste-Gate-B-Preferred-Options-Study-Report.pdf ) 2 NDA strategy 2016 (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nuclear-decommissioning-authority-draft-strategy )