§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what requests British Nuclear Fuels plc has made to his Department for permission to increase the levels of radiation released into the atmosphere from its plant at Sellafield. [9143]
§ Mr. ClappisonNo requests have been made to this Department. However, British Nuclear Fuels has applied to the Environment Agency for a variation to its current certificates of authorisation under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 to dispose of waste gases, mists and dusts from premises on its Sellafield site.
§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what levels of radiation have been released into the atmosphere from the BNFL plant at Sellafield in each of the last five years; and what are the current levels. [9144]
§ Mr. ClappisonInformation about air-borne discharges of radioactivity in past years from British Nuclear Fuels' Sellafield site is contained in the company's "Annual Report on Radioactive Discharges and Monitoring of the Environment", the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment" and the Department of the Environment's "Digest of Environmental Statistics". Copies of all these are available in the Library of the House.
Details of current discharges are contained in public registers held by the Environment Agency and local authorities in the area. The information may be obtained from the Environment Agency at Mitre house, Church street, Lancaster, LA1 1BQ.