Sellafield returns waste to Germany

The UK is returning reprocessed high level waste in the form of vitrified residues to Germany.

The waste results from the reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel at the Sellafield site in West Cumbria, which had previously been used to produce electricity by utilities in Germany. Three shipments are planned, with the first already on its way.

Six flasks, each containing 28 canisters of high level waste, were transported from Sellafield to the nearby port of Barrow-in-Furness by rail. The flasks were then loaded on to the specialist nuclear transport vessel Pacific Grebe, operated by International Nuclear Services (INS).

The vessel is en-route to a German port, where the flasks will be offloaded for their onward journey by rail to a Federal interim storage facility at Biblis.