THE atom plants at Aldermaston and Burghfield were shortlisted today to store waste from scrapped British nuclear-powered submarines.

The Ministry of Defence has 18 former Royal Navy nuclear subs stored afloat the Devonport and Rosyth naval shipyards awaiting dismantling, but that can only be done once the vessels’ reactor components, which are classed as radioactive waste, have been safely removed.

Nine submarines still in service but destined for the axe will also be broken down as part of the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) when their time is up.

The MOD-owned sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield are run by AWE Plc and already hold radioactive materials for processes including the productioon and maintenance of Trident missile warheads. Should either win the contract, the MOD says the work will secure 60 highly skilled for the forseeable future.

Public consultations on the five possible sites will take place in late 2014 and no decision will be made until that is complete. The chosen site will be used for interim storage site for the reactor components until after 2040 when Britain’s Geological Disposal Facility is planned to come into operation.

Phillips Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment Support and Technology, said today: “This is another step towards a safe and sustainable solution for the disposal of radioactive waste from our submarine fleet.

“All of the potential sites have a proven track record in handling radioactive material in a safe and secure way. We are committed to an open and transparent process and over the next year we will be working closely with local communities near to the potential sites, as part of the consultation before a final decision is made.”

The other three sites are Sellafield in West Cumbria and Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire, which are both owned by the Nuclear Decomissioning Authority, and Capenhurst in Cheshire, which is run by Capenhurst Nuclear Services.

The 27 submarines covered by the Submarine Dismantling Project are the 18 which have been laid up (one Dreadnought class, five Valiant and Courageous class, four Resolution class, six Swiftsure class and two Trafalgar class) and nine which are still in service (five Trafalgar class and four Vanguard class).