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Facts and stats
In 1939 a Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) was established at the current site location and in 1959 ownership passed to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. LLW disposal operations commenced in 1959 initially trench tipping until vault disposals started in 1988 and they are planned to continue until 2050.
A programme to retrieve bulk PCM stored at the site between 1956 and 1958 was completed in July 2007, with the ongoing retrieval and transportation of Hex cylinders and secondary waste continuing throughout 2008. The Site Licence Company (SLC), LLW Repository Ltd was formed in July 2007.
| Basics | |
| Location: | West Cumbria |
| Nearby towns/cities: | Drigg |
| Site area: | 100 Hectares |
| Number of current employees: | 110 |
| Key dates | |
| Original development: | 1939 - Royal Ordnance Factory |
| LLW Operations commenced with trench disposals: | 1959 – United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) |
| LLW vault disposal operations commenced: | 1988 - BNFL LLW Disposal Site |
| PCM Retrieval Programme commenced: | 1999 - BNFL LLW Disposal Site |
| PCM Retrieval operations completed: | 2007 - NDA LLW Repository |
| Formation of a separate Site Licence Company: | 2007 - NDA LLW Repository |
| Agreement on End State: | 2008 – NDA LLW Repository |
| Vault 9 available for operations: | 2009 – NDA LLW Repository |
| LLW disposal operations planned completion: | 2050 – NDA LLW Repository |
| Site closed/isolated, available for other use: | 2059 – NDA LLW Repository |
| Plant description | |
| UK Disposal Site: | LLW |
| Trenches 1 to 7: | 16 hectares containing 800,000m³ remaining |
| Vault 8 capacity (currently operational): | Approximately 24,000m3 remaining |
| Vault 9 capacity: | Approximately 100,000m3 |
| Vault Provision: | Approximately 600,000m3 |
| General site buildings: | 26 |
| LLW primary and secondary site buildings: | 22 |
| PCM primary and secondary site buildings: | 14 |
| Unique facts | |
| The LLW Repository is the UK's national Low Level Waste disposal site. The site, currently capable of processing more than 650 Half Height International Standards Organisation (HHISO) containers annually, has sufficient capacity until the middle of this century subject to securing the necessary consents and permissions. | |