From the 1950s to 1976 New Zealand dumped its radioactive waste at sea. Following the adoption of the
London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter and its expansion to include all nuclear waste, waste was instead stored in a shed at the National Radiation Laboratory in
Christchurch. Construction began in 2022, and was carried out in secret, without informing neighbours or local iwi. The building was completed in early 2024, and waste was transferred to it from Christchurch in a special convoy of military vehicles. The existence of the facility itself remained secret until reported by the
New Zealand Herald later that year. ==Function==