SHOCK and disbelief has been expressed after it was revealed that Odiham and Lasham could have been nuclear dumping grounds. The villages were two of 537 sites considered for burying nuclear waste by the Conservative government in the mid 1980s. The highly sensitive list has remained secret for the last two decades, but now under the Freedom of Information Act it has been forced into the public domain. The list - kept under wraps by the government and Nirex, the organisation responsible for dealing with intermediate-level waste - was whittled down in six stages to 12, with Lasham and Odiham being removed at the first stage. But, nearby Ministry of Defence camps at Bordon and Longmoor made it through to the final stage before they were eventually rejected because their geology was considered unsuitable. David O'Donnell, East Hampshire district councillor for Lasham, said he ws surprised at the revelation. "I genuinely didn't know anything about it," he said. "I am sure the beautiful village of Lasham would not like to be considered a nuclear waste site. I can't think of any reason why anyone would want to dump anything in a beautiful village like Lasham. They must have had their reasons I suppose, but all I can say is I'm glad it is not happening." Philip Ebert, chairman of Odiham Parish Council, said: "I'm quite surprised because I would not have thought that the geology was that favourable." Now the government is drawing up a new waste management strategy, although Nirex insists the old list will not form the basis of any search for a nuclear dump. Managing director Chris Murray said: "Dealing with the waste is as much an ethical and social issue as a scientific and technical one. This is the key lesson we have learned from the past."