By Ellis Butcher

Last updated at 12:13, Friday, 17 August 2012

One of the most significant reports ever produced in Cumbria’s nuclear history has been officially signed off.

The weighty document – the culmination of three years of evidence gathering – is now on its way to three councils for a landmark vote in October.

The hefty analysis represents the last and final report of the 17-member body, the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership.

It will be used as the reference point to determine whether the area agrees to take part in a nationwide search to solve the nuclear waste issue.

It could pave the way for west Cumbria hosting a mass underground repository to store intermediate and highly radioactive waste.

Such an underground site could be anywhere between 200 metres down or higher than Blackpool Tower at its shortest, or 1000 metres underground, the equivalent height of England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, at its deepest.

The final report makes no recommendation for or against the site, and does not aim to propose potential sites or location. Instead it aims to provide the authorities with a 360-degree view of the issues before they make a decision.

In the event that councils decide west Cumbria can take part in the search, the chief issue of contention is likely to centre around the suitability of the geology of any potential site and its compatibility with nuclear waste material.

First published at 11:29, Friday, 17 August 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk