§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all Chernobyl-type nuclear power stations still in existence, indicating whether they are still in active operation; what measures have been taken to(a) make them safe, (b) convert them or (c) close them in due course; and how many such stations have been closed since the Chernobyl disaster.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe nuclear reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl accident was an RBMK 1000. Eleven reactors of the same type remain in operation in Russia—four at Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad; four at Kursk; and three at Smolensk. Two 1000s remain in operation at 427W Chernobyl, Ukraine where a third unit has been closed following a fire in 1991. Two RBK 1500s are currently operating at Ignalina, Lithuania. Extensive safety improvement programmes have been carried out on RBMK reactors since the Chernobyl accident. Full details could be provided only by the countries concerned, which are responsible for all safety decisions, including whether or not their nuclear power plants should continue to operate.