By David Siddall

Last updated 15:55, Wednesday, 04 June 2008

COPELAND planning panel has recommended approval for a major site at Sellafield to store thousands of tonnes of intermediate nuclear waste for an indefinite period until the UK decides where and when it is to dig an underground nuclear dump.

Sellafield Ltd has applied for outline planning permission to build its proposed Comprehensive Import Export Facility at the West Cumbrian plant.

The building would store intermediate level nuclear waste before it is exported to a final permanent repository, when one is built.

But the Copeland councillors were reminded by their head of development, Tony Pomfret, that the final decision on such large applications has been handed over to Cumbria County Council so all Copeland could do was make a recommendation to the county councillors.

Mr Pomfret said a mountain of spoil ‘on a grand scale’ covering 2.5 hectares at Sellafield would first have to be cleared before the facility could be built.

The Copeland panel, chaired by Coun Mike McVeigh, did not discuss whether West Cumbria would eventually be targeted, as many expect, as the site for the underground dump. Mr Pomfret said: “We know that is still an ongoing issue.” The government’s NDA and recent White Papers have strongly favoured underground repositories as the eventual resting place for the ever growing stockpile of nuclear waste.

Sellafield Ltd stated in its applications that the new facility would create around 105 new jobs. But anti-nuclear campaigners fear more radioactive waste could be transported into Sellafield from elsewhere.

Martin Forwood, co-ordinator of Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, said: “The Government wants an underground dump and I would not like to see anything done at Sellafield that makes it more likely that the Sellafield area becomes where the final underground dump will be.”