§ 19. Mr. David Chaytor (Bury, North)What representations have been made to him by Caribbean states over the proposed shipment of MOX fuel to Japan. [86592]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)I am aware of the interest of the Caribbean states in this issue. While no specific representations have been made to me by Caribbean states over the proposed shipment of MOX fuel to Japan, I have received a letter from the high commissioner of the Bahamas on behalf of his Commonwealth Caribbean colleagues requesting a meeting to discuss the more general issue of the movement of nuclear material through the Caribbean sea. Arrangements are in hand to hold such a meeting.
§ Mr. ChaytorI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Does he accept that there is continuing concern about the safety, security and proliferation implications of the international transport of MOX fuel? Does he accept that that is partly because for many years the nuclear industry insisted that MOX fuel could not be chemically separated into its constituent element of uranium and plutonium, whereas many scientists challenged that view and pointed 928 out that it was a fairly routine scientific process for any terrorist group that had access to a university chemistry laboratory?
Is my hon. Friend aware that in documents published within the past few days by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and relating to the Department's latest round of consultation on the Sellafield MOX plant, the possibility of separating plutonium from MOX fuel has been confirmed? Will he assure the House that he will keep the safety, security and proliferation aspects of the transport of MOX fuel under the closest scrutiny?
§ Mr. HoonI can give my hon. Friend that assurance. I realise that there is concern about safety. I assure him that the solid nature of MOX itself, the integrity of the cask in which it is transported and the safety features of the ships mean that there is no credible accident scenario in which radioactivity could be released. With the benefit of my general science grade 5 O-level, I shall not argue with him as to the technicalities of the extraction of plutonium. I accept that that is theoretically possible, but I assure him that I am instructed that it would require a complex and highly specialised piece of equipment, and plant and skills, to achieve it. A considerable degree of nuclear sophistication would need to be available before what my hon. Friend describes could happen.