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Gloucestershire Coal Mines Considered as Nuclear Waste Storage Site in the 1950s

Friday, April 3, 2026 gloucestershire nuclear radioactive forestofdean coalmines mining waste protests 1950s government

In the 1950s, the UK government seriously considered using disused coal mines in Gloucestershire as storage sites for nuclear waste. Early in Britain’s atomic energy and weapons program, authorities approved plans to dispose of radioactive waste from research centers such as Harwell and Aldermaston in abandoned collieries within the Forest of Dean. Some of the proposed sites included New Fancy near Parkend, Crump Meadow, Foxes Bridge, and Lightmoor near Cinderford, as reported in the Dean Forest Mercury on August 20, 1954.