HC Deb 29 November 1994 vol 250 cc565-6W
Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assessment he has made of which method of decommissioning nuclear power stations is most compatible with the principle of sustainable development as defined at the Rio earth summit agreement;

(2) what assessment he has made of whether a method of decommissioning nuclear power stations exists which is compatible with the principle of sustainable development.

Mr. Eggar

The consultation document, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions", published by the Department of the Environment in August, considered a variety of decommissioning strategies. Responses are being considered and a statement will be made in due course.

Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade which body manages the Windscale advanced gas-cooled reactor decommissioning project; and what are his plans for the future management of the project.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Decommissioning of the Windscale advanced gas-cooled reactor—WAGR—is part of the decommissioning and radioactive waste management operations programme which is managed by the DRAWMOPS directorate within the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Government division. The DRAWMOPS directorate has recently awarded a management contract for the next phase of WAGR decommissioning to AEA Technology following a competitive tender exercise. This contract is to manage the decommissioning through to the removal of all main components including the four heat exchangers and reactor internals which is expected to take five and a half years.

Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the criteria which will be used to determine the method of decommissioning nuclear power stations in future.

Mr. Eggar

Detailed proposals for the decommissioning of nuclear power stations will be the subject of agreement between the operator and the regulatory authorities at the appropriate time.

Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if Her Majesty's Government will underwrite the costs of decommissioning nuclear power stations if it proves to be prohibitive for private finances.

Mr. Eggar

Schedule 12 to the Electricity Act 1989 provides power to make grants to operators, subject to certain limits, in respect of qualifying expenditure, which may include the costs of decommissioning nuclear power stations.