THE pyramids of the pharaohs and the nuclear bunkers of the past century may appear to have very little in common. But that could be about to change as the guardians of Britain’s atomic heritage discover the benefits of working like an Egyptian.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has undertaken an £8bn project to dismantle 26 research reactors and bury nuclear waste (that will remain dangerous for thousands of years) in concrete bunkers and storage facilities.

The problem is that the details of the dismantling and the dangers in handling of the plutonium, uranium and other wastes are outlined on computer software that will become outdated in a decade. Fortunately, someone remembered their ancient history - and the papyrus scrolls beloved of the Egyptians. When stored in the right conditions, the scrolls can preserve readable records for millennia, making them perfect for the nuclear waste industry.

The difficulty for scientists is that modern recycled paper has a high lignin acid content, and will rot over time. So they have used something called permanent paper, which is as close to papyrus as they can get. It is acid free, and will not deteriorate or discolour.

About 423 documents have been photocopied onto 11,718 sheets of this paper, packed in copper impregnated bags, and stored in 16 special long-life archive boxes - as close to the dry, airless conditions of the desert pyramids as possible.

The first batch of documents sets out details of the intermediate level radioactive waste arising from decommissioning the Windscale reactor in Cumbria, which will be completed next year.

The waste has been grouted into concrete boxes for storage on the site until a permanent solution is found. For extra assurance, two further sets of records for archiving at different places have been prepared.

David Gray, who led the project, said: “Our successors in the years and decades ahead must have access to detailed and reliable records of the stored radioactive waste as part of its long-term, safe management. For this reason the authority carried out a thorough study of all the options before deciding on the permanent paper solution. We hope that it will now be adopted across the industry.”

—Dawn/The Guardian News Service