Nukem, a private company, operates a facility at Hanau on the River Kinzig in central Germany which concentrated uranium ore and filled fuel tubes with the concentrate for nuclear reactors. Nukem is involved in supplying nuclear fuel to reactors in North and South America, Europe and Asia. It has grown into one of the biggest intermediaries in nuclear fuel in the world.
In 2007, The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) pled guilty to four counts of illegal dumping of nuclear waste. The UKAEA was created in 1954 by the UK government. It was charged with responsibility for the entire UK nuclear program, including military and defense. It was also given authority over all nuclear sites in the UK. The UKAEA advanced nuclear technology and the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes.
Yesterday, I blogged about illegal dumping of radioactive waste in a national nuclear repository in France. Continuing my focus on illegal radioactive waste dumping, today's blog is about illegal dumping in the United Kingdom. The UK Ministry of Defense has shipped waste from nuclear submarines based at Devenport in Plymouth to Driggs in Cumbria on the west coast of England for decades.
