§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if intermediate level wastes arising from the reprocessing of nuclear fuel from overseas will be retained in the United Kingdom; [1780]
(2) what plans he has to commission research into a long-term management proposal for radioactive wastes which incorporates retrievability. [1786]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government is considering implications for radioactive waste management policy of the former Secretary of State's dismissal of the United Kingdom Nirex Ltd.'s appeal against refusal of planning permission for a Rock Characterisation Facility at Sellafield. These include the return to the country of origin of intermediate-level waste generated by reprocessing of foreign spent fuel.
The previous Government's policy of "waste substitution" required BNFL to return intermediate-level waste to its foreign reprocessing customers (rather than a much smaller volume but radiologically equivalent amount of high-level waste) should the Nirex repository not be established by the time BNFL is contractually obliged to return the waste—i.e. 25 years after they are generated. It is unlikely that a repository could become operational within that timescale.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on Nirex's plan to establish a dump on the Stanford training area, Thetford. [1954]
§ Mr. MeacherFollowing the dismissal of Nirex's appeal against refusal of planning permission for a Rock Characterisation Facility at Sellafield, I understand that Nirex has no plans to investigate any other sites.