ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the waste management consequences of decommissioning nuclear facilities in the UK. It describes the main technical options, how these relate to different decommissioning strategies, what the present legislative and institutional provisions in the UK are, and how these might develop. The chapter shows that the way in which the balance is struck, and consequently the nature, volume, timing, and costs of radioactive waste production and management, will be fundamentally affected by the regulatory regime within which the decommissioning operation takes place. Regulation and decommissioning are inseparable and must be considered together. Many of the basic principles developed for the regulation of operating nuclear facilities will be applicable to decommissioning operations. Technically, nuclear reactors present some of the most difficult decommissioning problems, but much of the work may be long delayed. Improved technologies and changing regulatory standards will qualitatively change the nature of the decommissioning operation.
