§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy when the next operational safety review team from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit a British nuclear facility; what is the cost to the United Kingdom nuclear programme of such visits; and if he will make a statement on the operation of OSART to date.
§ Mr. WakehamThe International Atomic Energy Agency's operational safety and review team—OSART—missions comprise experts drawn from IAEA states, and are designed to subject various features of the operational safety of nuclear power stations to a form of peer review. The United Kingdom commends the valuable contribution which the missions make to improving operational nuclear safety worldwide.
An OSART mission visited Nuclear Electric's Oldbury on Severn station in July last year and reported favourably on the operational safety of the station. There are no plans at present for Nuclear Electric to receive a further OSART mission but the matter is being kept under review. However, I understand that the Scottish Office and Scottish Nuclear Ltd. have been exploring the possibility of an OSART mission to Hunterston B, which might take place around 1996.
116WOperators are responsible for providing appropriate subsistence to members of OSART missions. Other costs are borne by the IAEA.