§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the current extent, frequency, nature and mode of transport, of nuclear spent fuel transportation in the United Kingdom, including such material from sources in other countries.
§ Mr. MooreThe arrangements for ensuring safety in the transport of all radioactive materials including spent fuel, to, from or within the United Kingdom are based on the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations which do not depend for their effectiveness on the choice of route or mode of transport. Accordingly, my Department does not collect details of individual movements. Spent fuel is regularly transported, normally by rail, between power stations and BNFL's reprocessing plant at Sellafield. Similar consignments from overseas are brought by ship to Barrow, although other ports are occasionally used. Smaller quantities of spent fuel from various research and experimental reactors are also transported to Sellafield, mainly by road.