Where there’s nuclear muck there’s a growing opportunity for brass

Robin Pagnamenta: commentary

Where there’s muck there’s brass, the old saying goes. And rarely has this been more true than in the murky world of nuclear waste. The first shipment of high-level waste from Britain back to Japan is part of a booming trade in toxic radioactive material that is poised for brisk growth in the next few years.
Globally, the number of nuclear reactors is expected to swell from today’s 435 in 31 countries to 568 in 42 countries by 2020, equivalent to one new reactor a month for the next decade. All of those reactors produce spent fuel and other waste material that must be safely handled, processed and placed in long-term storage facilities.
Only a handful of countries have the expertise and technology for nuclear reprocessing, in which spent nuclear fuel rods from power stations are chopped up and boiled in acid to extract uranium and plutonium for reuse in a reactor. The by-product is a concentrated form of vitrified nuclear waste that is as nasty as it sounds.
While Britain’s Sellafield site in West Cumbria has historically been a major player in the industry, in recent years it is France that has been far more aggressive about tapping in to the global market for such “back-end” services, as they are known in the industry.

A French state-controlled company, Areva, is now the world’s largest processor of nuclear waste and is keen to secure a bigger share as countries such as China and India expand their nuclear activities rapidly. The company had €7 billion (£6 billion) of orders for waste contracts last year, a 30 per cent increase on 2008.
But while the commercial opportunities are clear, this booming trade is driving growing concerns about safety and security risks. Last October there was an outcry after claims that French nuclear material was being shipped to Russia and stored in an open-air car park before processing in the Siberian city of Seversk.
A spate of illegal dumping of radioactive waste by Mafia groups in ships off the coast of Italy provides another example of the lucrative commercial opportunities. But the real concern now is the threat that terrorists pose, and governments are scrambling to find ways to contain it.