In March 2020 Radioactive Waste Management published a significant technical report titled RWM’s approach to environmental and sustainability assessment (report no NDA/RWM/165). Apologies that I did not spot this addition to the list of publications at the time!

The report’s stated purpose is

… to explain RWM’s approach to external stakeholders, providing reassurance that environmental and sustainability issues will be fully taken into account during the implementation of geological disposal and will be properly integrated with RWM’s wider work programme – including the siting process, design development and safety case development for a GDF.

This report provides a welcome level of further detail on the scope and purpose of the environmental and sustainability assessments that RWM will be required to undertake and publish in support of its development of the proposed GDF. Ideally one would like to read the report in conjunction with the previously published Site Evaluation approaches (see news report 18 February 2020) but the use of different terminology between the reports makes this more difficult than it should be. I hope and suggest that RWM update the Site Evaluation approaches (for England and Wales) to recognise and integrate this new work.