Nuclear Information Centre
Encircled (2024)
[NIC/GD/011]
https://vimeo.com/922552388
The rocks have encircled the waste has encircled the Earth.
Harnessing both kinetic and gravitational potential energy, the Nuclear Information Centre pendulum moves with apparent effortlessness across both deep and shallow time whilst simultaneously providing much-needed Anthropocenic spiritual guidance and tidy yes/no answers to the ongoing conundrum of safely managing our ever-growing global inventory of human generated radioactive waste.
The scientific consensus amongst most nuclear states is that deep geological disposal represents the best and safest solution for dealing with our most problematic and long-lasting nuclear waste arising from the accumulation of eight decades and counting of spent nuclear fuel and associated radioactive by-products.
In addition to the natural barrier of the “host” rock, of which three main types have been identified as suitable, geological disposal also builds in additional engineered barriers, including bentonite clay as a protective backfill material with the whole facility designed to isolate and contain the packaged waste canisters deep underground over the tens and hundreds of thousands of years they will take to reach nominally safe radiation levels.
In terms of addressing our domestically produced waste, geological disposal may seem to be “the right thing to do for today’s society and future generations” according to the UK Government, but we should also consider this seemingly neat and tidy solution within the context of our wider global nuclear footprint. The ongoing and enduring legacies of uranium mining, atomic weapons testing and unplanned radiological releases are not so tidily managed or contained and their environmental legacies will continue to unfold over human and geological timescales.
Technical notes.
Three main rock types have been identified as geologically suitable for hosting a GDF. These are higher strength rocks such as granite, lower strength sedimentary rocks such as mudstone, and evapourites such as halite. Additionally, due to its strong moisture absorbing properties, bentonite clay has been identified as a potential buffer material for surrounding the deposited waste packages and slow down the movement of groundwater within a GDF. Water is the single most undesirable ingredient in a GDF as it can act as a conduit for hazardous radionuclides to potentially reach the surface. The rock takes on the role of the final barrier between the waste and the outside world.
As of 2026 no suitable site has been identified within the UK although the latest, consent-based iteration of the GDF siting process has been ongoing since 2018.
The Nuclear Information Centre Pendulum is roughly cast from bentonite clay in the approximate proportions of a high-level radioactive waste canister as it circles slowly around the seemingly clock-like arrangement of rocks. When and where will it finally come to rest?
In this exhibit the pendulum is free-hanging so combines a relative stillness with the potential for movement, either through ambient forces or as a result of direct human intervention.
Information last updated: Sat 05 Sep 2026
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