§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what volumes of waste and contaminated soil have been removed from his Department's site at Repository road, Woolwich Common, since 1990; where this material has been disposed of; what operations are currently under way with respect to the excavation, handling, movement and disposal of contaminated soil and radioactive wastes from this site; what authorisation or administrative equivalent, as defined by the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, applies requiring prior approval of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution with regard to any excavation and or disturbance of the contaminated soil; and what procedure is used to check that this requirement has been fully complied with.
§ Mr. AitkenSince 1990, approximately 40 cu.m. of slightly contaminated building rubble have been disposed to a specialised contractor for disposal at his own disposal site. Currently a further 9 cu.m. of waste are awaiting disposal to the Drigg land burial site in Cumbria. No operations are currently under way to dispose of contamination. However, an area measuring about 3,000 sq. m. has been radiologically surveyed and shown to have some sub-surface radioactivity, which is not uniformly distributed. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has visited the site, authorised disposals under RSA60 and been kept aware of developments. The contamination poses no danger to any member of the public.
§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has formulated with regard to its intention for the best management or disposal of the contaminated land at his Department's site at Repository road, Woolwich Common; what arrangements his Department has made to provide full details of the volumes and inventory of the wastes there, and any other radioactive wastes deposited at present or past military establishments in the general area of Woolwich, for inclusion in the 1992 United Kingdom radioactive waste inventory currently in joint preparation by UK Nirex and the Department of the Environment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AitkenInvitations to specialised contractors to tender for a contract for the removal and disposal of the contaminated soil will be issued in the next few weeks. The work is expected to take about a year to complete.
Since past wastes have been, and future wastes are likely to be, disposed of either by specialised contractors who have their own facilities for disposal or directly to the Drigg disposal site in Cumbria, it is not necessary to include details of wastes arising at the Woolwich garrison in the United Kingdom radioactive waste inventory.
§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent, in terms of land area, overall volume and average specific radioactivity of contaminated land and wastes deposited at his Department's establishment site located at Repository road, Woolwich Common;494W what is the nature of the wastes in terms of radionuclide and chemical content; when the wastes were deposited at this site; what were the original sources of the wastes; and what assessment he has made of the compliance of the disposal of these wastes to legislation, controls and good practice at the time, and of the subsequent care and management of the site to good practice and regulatory requirements of radioactive waste management.
§ Mr. AitkenThe contaminated land measures about 3,000 sq. m. in area. The radioactivity is unevenly distributed at a depth greater than about one metre; the top metre is clean hardcore. The main radionuclide is radium-226 and the highest measured specific activity is 23 Bq/gm. The contamination has arisen from the burning of various materials arising from luminising operations involving radium-based paints carried out in an adjacent workshop building during the 1950s and 1960s. Such practices were common at that time. Current activities associated with radioactive waste management are being undertaken in accordance with all statutory requirements.
§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what controls have been implemented to ensure that there has not been, and will not be, any spread of contamination from his Department's site at Repository road, Woolwich Common; what has been the extent of radioactive monitoring and surveying of the general vicinity of the contaminated site; and what current monitoring is undertaken.
§ Mr. AitkenThe contamination is sub-surface. The area has a gravel/hardcore surface to a depth of about one metre which minimises the likelihood of airborne dispersal. Radiation measurements have been carried out at the nearest public access points by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the contamination shown to pose no danger to members of the public. The garden of a local resident has been monitored by the defence radiological protection service, and the results indicate no enhanced levels of radium-226 contamination in the garden. No monitoring is currently being undertaken, but it will be resumed when the contamination is being removed.