§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to extend the no-fly zone at Sellafield. [13229]
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§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 8 November 2001]: There are no plans to extend the flying restrictions applying to Sellafield at the present time. Flying restrictions over Sellafield prohibit aircraft from flying over the nuclear installation below a height of 2,200 feet above mean sea level in a two nautical mile radius. The regulations currently applying are the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Nuclear Installations) Regulations 2001 which came into force on 11 May 2001. The regulations do not prohibit flights for the purpose of landing at or taking off from the helicopter landing area at the installation. Such flights are made with the permission of the person in charge of the installation and in accordance with any conditions to which that permission is subject.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the B215 building at the Sellafield site has been designed to resist a plane crash. [13231]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 8 November 2001]: All nuclear licensees are required by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the safety regulator, to ensure that they maintain valid safety cases for operations on each of their sites. Safety cases need to take due account of external hazards such as plane crashes at nuclear installations. HSE is satisfied that the safety case applying to the Sellafield site, including building 215, took appropriate account of the risks of an accidental air crash.
The UK's civil nuclear sites apply stringent security measures regulated by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), the security regulator. The security regulator works closely with the Health and Safety Executive, the safety regulator, which provides advice on the safety implications of events, including external hazards such as plane crashes, at nuclear installations. Security and safety precautions at nuclear sites are kept under regular review. Both regulators are reviewing all relevant precautions in the light of the recent terrorist attacks in the USA. It is not Government policy to disclose details of security measures taken at civil nuclear sites.