UK’s nuclear waste cleanup operation could cost £260bn

Sellafield, which is storing much of the UK’s nuclear waste, is one of the most hazardous sites in the world. Photograph: Simon Grosset/Alamy

The cost of decommissioning the UK’s 20th-century nuclear waste could rise to £260bn as the aged and degrading sites present growing challenges, according to analysis presented to an international group of experts.

As the government pursues nuclear energy with the promise of a new generation of reactors, the cost of safely cleaning up waste from previous generations of power stations is soaring.