§ 2.43 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT CALDECOTEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the special characteristics of the Vulcain and Integral Boiling Water Reactor systems which led to the conclusion that research and development in support of nuclear marine propulsion should be concentrated on these two systems.]
§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE (VISCOUNT HAILSHAM)My Lords, the integral character of the design of both the Vulcain and Integral Boiling Reactor systems produces a compact reactor with a number of economic advantages. They require a comparatively small amount of the ship's space; can be built on land under workshop conditions; and installed in a ship as a packaged unit. This both simplifies the building of the vessel and enables 1005 a quicker turn round for refuelling. The control of reactivity by the special methods employed in these designs enables a longer fuel life to be used and offers a cheaper control system than the more complex control rod arrangement employed in other designs. Both reactor systems have useful load following characteristics. These advantages together offer potentially somewhat lower annual running costs than the other marine reactor designs considered so far. The feed water will be treated in a purification plant in accordance with established practice for boiling water reactor and pressurised water reactor systems. The measures necessary to protect the engines and auxiliaries from any possible contamination from radioactive steam are already known from the operation of land-based reactors. A number of problems still remain to be resolved and further work is in hand.
§ VISCOUNT CALDECOTEMy Lords, can the Minister say whether the standards of safety can be adequately catered for in these systems?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, they will not be used unless they are.