Dear Editors,
I agree with Beswick and Gibb; for the manageable volumes of waste generated in the UK, deep borehole disposal (DBD) is the only viable long-term solution – assuming the UK continues to limit generation to six nuclear power stations. That said, there could be national opposition if drill locations are extended beyond the site of present nuclear power stations (in search of tight granite, for example), and the cost of any DBD solution will probably force the government to adopt the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) option in the
short term.
DBD cannot be the sole solution for the United States, however, because such a large number of boreholes would be required to accommodate the waste generated by the nation’s 99 nuclear power stations.
Max Dobson
Now retired, Professor Maxwell Dobson was Head of Geology at Aberystwyth University, UK and Head of Geology at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.
