Nuclear Safety (Hansard, 10 April 2002)

§ Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will ask Her Majesty's Chief Nuclear Inspector to review the adequacy of the nuclear installations inspectorate's safety assessment principles numbers 126 and 127 in respect of aircraft crashes. [46197]

§ Mr. Wilson
No. HSE keeps its safety assessment principles for nuclear plants under review as a matter of course. These principles provide a robust framework for regulatory decisions by the HSE's nuclear installations inspectorate (NII). NII's regulatory assessments also take into account current relevant knowledge.
365W

§ Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent funding her Department has provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency's programme to combat nuclear terrorism and protect nuclear materials; what additional resources have been made available to strengthen physical protection measures at United Kingdom nuclear facilities since 11 September 2001; and if she will make a statement on the work done by the International Physical Protection Advisory Service. [46196]

§ Mr. Wilson
On 18 March 2002, the UK Governor announced at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting a £250,000 voluntary contribution to the IAEA's Protection Against Nuclear Terrorism fund.
No additional resources have been made available to the UK nuclear industry to strengthen physical protection measures at civil nuclear sites since 11 September 2001. Costs for security are met by the site licensees.
The IAEA's International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) provides member states with advice on their legal and regulatory infrastructure and the implementation of physical protection arrangements. At the request of an IAEA member state, the IAEA convenes an international team of specialists experienced in the physical protection of nuclear material to review the requesting member state's physical protection system and compare it to international guidelines and internationally recognised best practices. Based on this review, the team provides the member state, in confidence, with recommendations for improvements and recognises current good practices already instituted by that State. IPPAS missions have been conducted in eastern/central Europe, Africa, South America and SE Asia. The UK has led three of these missions and participated in a number of others.