Latest Inventory for Geological Disposal published 

Overview of waste materials designated for disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) 

Nuclear Waste Services has updated its records of the quantities and types of waste that are designated for geological disposal. 

The information in the latest Inventory for Geological Disposal (IGD) is based on the 2022 UK Radioactive Waste Inventory (UK RWI), which is published every three years by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ).  

The IGD is based on data from the UKRWI but goes further by taking a more strategic look at the potential waste streams in the future that may have an impact on a GDF. This is highly detailed technical work and includes a thorough assessment of the implications of the inventory changes on the generic Disposal System Safety Case, which is why the reports take time to produce.  

It is a snapshot of this waste taken at a specific point in time, called the ‘stock date.’ The report incorporates projected estimates from a range of future nuclear generating scenarios; however, as it is based on this snapshot of 2022 data, it does not account for more recent developments. 

The UK RWI covers every kind of radioactive waste that exists in the country, ranging from the lightly contaminated to the longer-lived, more hazardous materials.  

The IGD only catalogues the most hazardous radioactive waste which is destined for disposal in a GDF. The published Inventory for Geological Disposal reports the estimated volume, activity, and packaging of the specific types of radioactive waste, and nuclear materials that could be declared as waste, to be disposed of in a GDF 

The Inventory for Geological Disposal includes estimates of the disposal of radioactive wastes from up to 24 GWe nuclear new build. 

NWS updates the inventory for geological disposal and reviews the likely impact for a GDF, so that work on designing a facility is always based on up-to-date information. 

Shaun Robarts, Head of Waste Management and Inventory at Nuclear Waste Services, said: 

Disposing of this waste in a GDF will enable the UK’s ambition to increase its nuclear energy capacity by preparing to safely dispose of future waste. 

To plan for a GDF, we need to know how much radioactive waste it will have to contain. That’s why the Inventory for Geological Disposal is important.

Geological disposal is only for the small fraction of radioactive waste we can’t reuse, recycle, treat, or dispose of another way. As a result, less than 10% of the volume of radioactive waste in the UK is currently planned for disposal in a GDF.  

The next update from the UK Radioactive Waste Inventory will be produced based on a stock date of 01/04/2025, and will account for more recent developments including the recent announcement from Government around its intention to immobilise the UK-owned civil plutonium stock.