§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are the estimated volumes for low-level radioactive waste which the recent consultation document proposes shall be dumped in public refuse tips;
(2) what are the origins of the low-level radioactive waste from the nuclear industry which it is proposed to dump on public refuse tips according to the recent consultative document;
(3) what consideration has been given to the transportation problems associated with the dumping of low-level radioactive waste on public refuse tips as proposed in the recent consultative document.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 15 December 1994]: The consultation document, "Review of Radioactive Waste 976W Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions", proposed that there would be advantage in encouraging greater use of controlled burial of low-level radioactive waste in landfill sites.
Low-level waste from the nuclear industry includes discarded protective clothing, used paper towels and plastic wrappings, and other lightly contaminated items of equipment, as well as building rubble and steelwork from decommissioned plant. No estimate has been made of the volumes of waste which producers might seek to dispose of in this way. No transportation problems were anticipated; where the level of radioactivity requires it, waste consignments are subject to control under international regulations made by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The consultation document was sent to a wide range of interested bodies and we shall be considering future policy in the light of the many responses received.