Nuclear waste to be sent back to Europe

Seven shipping cylinders of nuclear waste are due to be shipped to Europe, as part of a project to send back spent fuel to the countries that produced it.

The Sellafield nuclear plant, in West Cumbria, was tasked with reprocessing the nuclear material used to produce electricity in Germany.

The containers are due to make the journey to the Isar Federal storage facility by sea on a specialist vessel.

A Sellafield spokesman said the move was a "key component" of the strategy to "repatriate high-level waste from the UK".

This will be the second of three shipments sent from the UK to Germany.

The first shipment of six containers - known as flasks - which was sent to Biblis, was completed in 2020.

Each flask is about 20ft (6m) long, with a 8ft (2.5m) diameter.

The waste will be transported on a specialist vessel by sea to a German port, then onwards by rail to its final destination.

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