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| UK returns nuclear waste to Japan | UK returns nuclear waste to Japan |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The first shipment of highly radioactive waste from the UK has left the Sellafield nuclear site and arrived in Barrow, Cumbria, the BBC has learnt. | The first shipment of highly radioactive waste from the UK has left the Sellafield nuclear site and arrived in Barrow, Cumbria, the BBC has learnt. |
| It has been loaded onto a ship specifically designed to carry nuclear waste that will sail for Japan later. | It has been loaded onto a ship specifically designed to carry nuclear waste that will sail for Japan later. |
| The waste is a by-product of nuclear fuel spent by Japanese reactors that was sent to the UK for reprocessing during the 1980s and 1990s. | The waste is a by-product of nuclear fuel spent by Japanese reactors that was sent to the UK for reprocessing during the 1980s and 1990s. |
| Campaigners say the shipments are unnecessary and dangerous. | Campaigners say the shipments are unnecessary and dangerous. |
| "It is highly irresponsible for the industry to still be sending this kind of material across the world," said anti-nuclear campaigner Martin Forward. | |
| BBC business reporter John Moylan said: "Standing just two metres away [from the canister], I can feel the heat it is generating." | |
| But Sellafield spokesman Mike Johnson said the site was simply fulfilling its contractual obligations, and government policy, in transporting the waste safely. | |
| Only two countries, the UK and France, have been engaged in the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from power stations. | Only two countries, the UK and France, have been engaged in the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from power stations. |
| EYEWITNESS 1110 GMT John Moylan, business reporter, Barrow docks, Cumbria | |
| What we are seeing is something that has never happened before. The white, stainless steel canisters weigh more than 100 tonnes and contain some of the most hazardous, deadly nuclear waste that has ever been transported in the UK. | What we are seeing is something that has never happened before. The white, stainless steel canisters weigh more than 100 tonnes and contain some of the most hazardous, deadly nuclear waste that has ever been transported in the UK. |
| It left Sellafield this morning and is heading to the docks [in Barrow] on route to Japan. | It left Sellafield this morning and is heading to the docks [in Barrow] on route to Japan. |
| There is quite a serious police presence here, with a police helicopter overhead, which has followed the train all the way from Sellafield, and lots of people on the ground. | There is quite a serious police presence here, with a police helicopter overhead, which has followed the train all the way from Sellafield, and lots of people on the ground. |
| It will now go through some final checks before being loaded onto the ship. | It will now go through some final checks before being loaded onto the ship. |
| The process involves extracting reusable uranium and plutonium from the fuel, leaving behind a liquid waste. | The process involves extracting reusable uranium and plutonium from the fuel, leaving behind a liquid waste. |
| Japan has storage facilities in place already, having received 12 shipments of high level nuclear waste from France in recent years. | Japan has storage facilities in place already, having received 12 shipments of high level nuclear waste from France in recent years. |
| Over the next decade, high-level waste will also be returned to European countries. | Over the next decade, high-level waste will also be returned to European countries. |
| Profitable shipment | Profitable shipment |
| Returning waste to countries that have benefited from nuclear energy production is in line with both global agreements and UK government policy. | Returning waste to countries that have benefited from nuclear energy production is in line with both global agreements and UK government policy. |
| For Sellafield, it is also a source of revenue, as the company - which runs the site under a contract with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - is being paid by the government for meeting targets set as part of a complex contract that involves the decommissioning, reprocessing and waste management at the site. | For Sellafield, it is also a source of revenue, as the company - which runs the site under a contract with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - is being paid by the government for meeting targets set as part of a complex contract that involves the decommissioning, reprocessing and waste management at the site. |
| "This is a performance-based milestone," Mike Johnson, executive director of Sellafield's waste and effluent disposition, told BBC News. "This is one of the ways we earn our fees." | "This is a performance-based milestone," Mike Johnson, executive director of Sellafield's waste and effluent disposition, told BBC News. "This is one of the ways we earn our fees." |
| Sellafield declined to reveal the payment details. | Sellafield declined to reveal the payment details. |
| Revenue loss | Revenue loss |
| Sellafield's high-level nuclear waste storage is one of the most concentrated sources of radioactivity anywhere in the world. | Sellafield's high-level nuclear waste storage is one of the most concentrated sources of radioactivity anywhere in the world. |
| When measured by volume, 65% of Britain's total waste is stored there, though it accounts for about 95% of the waste when measured by radioactivity. | When measured by volume, 65% of Britain's total waste is stored there, though it accounts for about 95% of the waste when measured by radioactivity. |
| In pictures: Waste storage | In pictures: Waste storage |
| It is also widely seen as the most complex nuclear facility in the world, because its waste is derived from a broad range of weapons and energy production - in the UK and abroad - during a period in history when the focus was more on quick solutions than on how to deal with their aftermath. | It is also widely seen as the most complex nuclear facility in the world, because its waste is derived from a broad range of weapons and energy production - in the UK and abroad - during a period in history when the focus was more on quick solutions than on how to deal with their aftermath. |
| For the UK, the shipment goes one step towards reversing the country's reputation as the nuclear dustbin of the world - although, over time, it will also lead to a fall in revenue from nations currently paying for their nuclear waste to be stored at Sellafield. | For the UK, the shipment goes one step towards reversing the country's reputation as the nuclear dustbin of the world - although, over time, it will also lead to a fall in revenue from nations currently paying for their nuclear waste to be stored at Sellafield. |
| Domestic challenge | Domestic challenge |
| In about 10 years, high-level nuclear waste, equivalent to the waste created by the nuclear fuel received, will have been returned to all Sellafield's foreign customers. | In about 10 years, high-level nuclear waste, equivalent to the waste created by the nuclear fuel received, will have been returned to all Sellafield's foreign customers. |
| Afterwards, the UK will nevertheless be left with waste from decades of weapons programmes, research and energy production, which means the repatriation of waste will do little to provide a solution to the waste management challenge facing the UK. | Afterwards, the UK will nevertheless be left with waste from decades of weapons programmes, research and energy production, which means the repatriation of waste will do little to provide a solution to the waste management challenge facing the UK. |
| Current nuclear waste storage facilities have evolved during the past 50 years, though they are still defined as temporary solutions. | Current nuclear waste storage facilities have evolved during the past 50 years, though they are still defined as temporary solutions. |
| Plans for the construction of an underground repository have been discussed for decades, but as yet, no firm decisions have been made. | Plans for the construction of an underground repository have been discussed for decades, but as yet, no firm decisions have been made. |
| In the meantime, the nuclear shipments will open up space in the current storage facilities, which have been designed to cope with much more high-level waste than is currently there. | In the meantime, the nuclear shipments will open up space in the current storage facilities, which have been designed to cope with much more high-level waste than is currently there. |
| Made in the UK | Made in the UK |
| In simple terms, nuclear reprocessing involves cutting up spent nuclear fuel rods into small bits that are dissolved in acid. | In simple terms, nuclear reprocessing involves cutting up spent nuclear fuel rods into small bits that are dissolved in acid. |
| Uranium and plutonium is extracted from the mix, and this can be reused to make new nuclear fuel, which is then returned to nuclear power plants. | Uranium and plutonium is extracted from the mix, and this can be reused to make new nuclear fuel, which is then returned to nuclear power plants. |
| The remainder is then waste in a liquid form. | The remainder is then waste in a liquid form. |
| This is kept in evaporation and storage tanks for long periods, eventually being reduced to a powdery substance that is then dissolved in liquid glass heated to some 1,100C. | This is kept in evaporation and storage tanks for long periods, eventually being reduced to a powdery substance that is then dissolved in liquid glass heated to some 1,100C. |
| This cocktail is then poured into steel canisters that resemble milk churns. | This cocktail is then poured into steel canisters that resemble milk churns. |
| In the case of Sellafield, the high-level waste canisters are then stored in a massive building that looks like an ordinary warehouse from the outside. | In the case of Sellafield, the high-level waste canisters are then stored in a massive building that looks like an ordinary warehouse from the outside. |
| Inside, the canisters are stacked on top of each other and the radioactivity is contained by about 10ft (3m) of concrete shielding and two-feet thick concrete lids. | Inside, the canisters are stacked on top of each other and the radioactivity is contained by about 10ft (3m) of concrete shielding and two-feet thick concrete lids. |
| In the future, the plan is to start treating spent fuel from nuclear power plants as waste, rather than trying to extract and reuse the plutonium and uranium to create new fuel. | In the future, the plan is to start treating spent fuel from nuclear power plants as waste, rather than trying to extract and reuse the plutonium and uranium to create new fuel. |
| Many in the nuclear industry seem convinced that this is not a sustainable way of working, given anticipated shortages of both these valuable chemical elements. | Many in the nuclear industry seem convinced that this is not a sustainable way of working, given anticipated shortages of both these valuable chemical elements. |
| TRANSPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE The UK plans to return 1,850 flasks of waste over the next 10 years, averaging about one shipment per year.Each flask contains 28 stainless steel canisters of Highly Active Waste (HAW) in solid glass form.They will be sent by rail to Barrow in Furness and from there shipped to Japan via an undisclosed route, arriving before the end of March 2010. | TRANSPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE The UK plans to return 1,850 flasks of waste over the next 10 years, averaging about one shipment per year.Each flask contains 28 stainless steel canisters of Highly Active Waste (HAW) in solid glass form.They will be sent by rail to Barrow in Furness and from there shipped to Japan via an undisclosed route, arriving before the end of March 2010. |