Rising sea levels caused by global warming could destroy the UK's only major nuclear waste dump in as little as 500 years, according to a report by the Environment Agency.
That would cause the 1 million cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste currently stored at Drigg on the Cumbrian coast to leak, the government watchdog warns. The agency adds that such an event would increase the risk of local people contracting cancers by at least 100 times.
Experts point out that other coastal nuclear waste sites, like Rokkashomura in Japan and Lan Yu island in Taiwan, could face similar risks. Reactor sites next to the sea, including six in India and 13 in the UK, might also be vulnerable.
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