HL Deb 11 June 1996 vol 572 cc163-4WA
Lord Jenkins of Putney

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many nuclear reactors there are in abandoned ex-Soviet submarines in the Baring Sea; what is their estimate of the dangers they pose; and what can be done to minimise those dangers.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

The precise number of former Soviet reactors dumped at sea is known only to the Russians. The Government share international concern about the whole range of nuclear safety issues in Russia. HMG scientists are participating in a project organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency examining the extent of radioactive contamination in the Arctic Seas. The report, due at the end of the year, will include recommendations for remedial measures if these are considered necessary. The UK firm AEA Technology is part of a consortium working on the safer removal and storage of unstable nuclear fuel from a Russian ship in Murmansk harbour. We are encouraged by President Yeltsin's recent commitment that Russia will formally accept this year the 1993 amendment to the London Convention 1972 banning the dumping of all radioactive waste at sea.