HC Deb 26 February 1985 vol 74 c161W
Mr. Gordon Brown

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when he expects NIREX to bring forward proposals for the burial of radioactive waste from nuclear submarines;

(2) what evidence he has considered from the United States of America about the storage of radioactive waste from its nuclear fleet;

(3) how much money his Department spent in 1984, and in the preceding five years, on research into the disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear submarines.

Mr. Lee

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment said on 24 January, at columns 1146–48, the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive is at present engaged on the identification of suitable arrangements for the burial of radioactive waste. In accordance with our policy of utilising national arrangements for the disposal of such material, we would expect to make use of whatever arrangements are eventually established. Our research work has, therefore, been confined to the handling and disposal of material created by the activity of nuclear submarine refitting, at a cost of some £0.5 million since 1979. National United Kingdom research has involved full consultation with overseas authorities, including, of course, those of the United States.

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