§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes there have been in funding for(a) the AEA Dounreay project and (b) the health physics surveyor team at Dounreay.
§ Mr. Charles Wardle[holding answer 30 November 1994]: The DTI provided funding of £48.6 million for the UKAEA Dounreay site in 1993–94. This consisted of £23.9 million for decommissioning and radioactive waste management, and £24.7 million for the prototype fast reactor programme. An additional £20.7 million income from electricity generation contributed to PFR operating costs.
The anticipated DTI funding for the site in 1994–95 is about £67 million. This consists of £61 million for decommissioning and radioactive waste management, £5 million for nuclear site operations and £1 million for prototype fast reactor closure experiments.
The size of the health physics team, hence its cost, is a management matter for the UKAEA.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) on what grounds there have been planned reductions in the health physics survey staff or team at Dounreay;
(2) what has been the size of the health physics monitoring shift team in the past two years; and what it will be from 1 January 1995.
§ Mr. Charles Wardle[holding answers 30 November 1994]: These are management matters for UKAEA.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will investigate the consequences for radiation safety at Dounreay of the proposed reduction in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's monitoring programme.
§ Mr. Charles Wardle[holding answer 30 November 1994]: The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's health physics monitoring programme is set at a level which ensures the safety of the work force and the public. This activity is subjected to rigorous independent scrutiny 107W by the regulators—the nuclear installations inspectorate and Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate, and I therefore see no grounds to investigate the current programme.