HC Deb 16 June 1997 vol 296 c39W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he intends to take to identify storage or disposal sites in the United Kingdom for nuclear waste, or other radioactive materials which have(a) been abandoned and (b) had their function changed since nuclear activities took place on site. [3941]

Angela Eagle

The Government is considering how best to apply the provisions of the 1995 Environment Act to radioactively contaminated land. These include the identification of radioactively contaminated sites.

Mr. Dawson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he proposes to take over British Nuclear Fuels plans to transport nuclear waste for recycling at Sellafield by air. [3402]

Ms Glenda Jackson

BNFL have no plans to transport by air nuclear materials to Sellafield for reprocessing.

However, Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) has been safely transported from Sellafield by air since 1973 in packages meeting International Atomic Energy Agency standards.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport has agreed to talk to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) about routeing, to see what might be done to ensure that overflights of urban areas are avoided as far as possible.