A Geological Disposal Facility is a posh name for an underground dump for High-Level nuclear waste.

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Nuclear waste comes from a number of sources, Nuclear Power Stations, military and research establishments. The high and intermediate-level waste that is to be buried in a GDF is the most dangerous material in the world, and it will remain dangerous for more than 100,000 years.

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A GDF comes in two parts, The surface site and the underground disposal network.

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The Surface Site.

This is where the waste is brought in. It woulod arrive by rail in concrete transport flasks.  The waste container will be unpacked from the flask and placed on another train that will take it underground. NWS claim that no waste will be held on the surface. This is somewhat difficult to believe. A failure of the underground railway while incoming waste is in transit. The waste would either have to be returned or stored on the surface awaiting the repair of the underground train. I

The surface site will also host all the services for the underground facility. This facility will require significant forced ventilation. The spoil, which will be pumped to the surface in the form of a slurry will require a large area where the water is removed to prepare it for transport. There will be a lorry park and loading area. NWS say that everything will come in and out by rail, However they also say that work on the site will not wait for the construction of a rail link, so while Network Rail are negtotiating land purchase and then constructing twenty miles of railway everything will come in by road. It must also accomodate the nuclear sites police force, catering, medical centre and a helipad. This is why they need 1-2 sq kilometeres at least. At Gayton le Marsh they want to take 3.8 sq km (940 acres) of productive farmland.

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The Underground Facility

The underground facility would be five miles from the surface site making it just half a mile offshore from the beach at Theddlethorpe and Mablethorpe. It will be about 400 metres down.  The size of underground works has now increased from 1 sq mile to six sq miles.  it consists of hundreds of miles of tunnels and some larger chambers known as vaults. The vaults are to be used for intermediate level waste. The highlevel waste will be place into holes bored into the base of the tunnels. NWS has made great play of the fact that other countries are opting for deep geological disposal. What they haven't said is that no other country has opted to put one under the seabed.

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  RWM's webpage