As the process to find a home for a geological disposal facility in Copeland moves forward, the borough council's executive prepares to decide on its involvement.

Copeland GDF Working Group identified two Search Areas for the disposal of higher level radioactive waste this week.

Search Areas in the siting process for GDF are electoral wards that will be considered in more detail.

The electoral wards of Gosforth, Seascale and Beckermet have been identified as potentially including locations suitable for GDF

The other Search Area comprises the electoral wards of Millom, Black Combe and Scafell. Local Authorities and Radioactive Waste Management will now consider whether to form Community Partnerships which will progress the work to find a suitable location for GDF in those Search Areas.

Copeland Borough Council's executive is set to decide whether it will take part in the Community Partnership for the Search Areas when it meets on October 14.

Portfolio holder for Nuclear and Corporate Services, councillor David Moore said: "We've got a paper that will be presented to the executive on the 14th, at that point the executive will look at the options and conditions we want in place. Obviously we can't preempt the decision but the opportunity will be there to be involved in one of the Community Partnerships or both.

"The big focus will still be in exploring opportunities off the coast."

Copeland GDF Working Group is considering an area up to 22.2km off the coast for the underground disposal of nuclear waste.

Marianne Birkby, of the Radiation Free Lakeland group, is strongly against an underground geological disposal facility.

She said: "Our position is that it should be contained above ground, not deep underground.

"Our remit is to oppose GDF anywhere because the science doesn't exist to safely put nuclear waste underground for any length of time."

Once radioactive waste is placed inside a GDF, the facility is sealed. By combining engineering with the natural barrier of appropriate geology, it is designed to keep protecting people and the environment for hundreds of thousands of years, while the radioactivity fades away naturally.

Councillor Moore said that the council has an opportunity to play a leading role.

"We know we'll be involved in the GDF process wherever it is."

80 per cent of the legacy waste that will be stored in the underground facility is currently at Sellafield.

"If we do move to Community Partnership it'll be the first in the country. There's a working group in Allerdale but they haven't taken this step forward."