§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how much caesium-147 is stored in above-ground tanks at the BNFL reprocessing plant at Sellafield; [37701]
(2) when the tanks used to store high-level radioactive waste at the BNFL B215 facility at Sellafield were constructed; and what projections were made regarding their useful and safe lifespan at the time of construction; [37697]
(3) if she will make a statement on arrangements for the storage of high-level radioactive waste at the BNFL B215 facility at Sellafield. [37696]
§ Mr. WilsonThe liquid high-level radioactive waste (Highly Active Liquid (HAL)) held at the B215 facility at Sellafield contains essentially all the radioactive isotopes produced in a nuclear reactor. This includes caesium 137 which is estimated to account for approximately a quarter of the total activity contained in the HAL. The total amount of HAL kept in the highly active storage tanks at any one time is related primarily to (1) the total amount of HAL arising from spent fuel reprocessed at Sellafield and (2) the amount of HAL that is converted from liquid form into vitrified form (solid glass blocks).
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a number of detailed reports by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) on the safety of storage of liquid high level waste (HLW) at Sellafield. The report published by HSE in February 2000 assesses the key safety issues associated with HLW storage at Sellafield and the actions to be taken to reduce the stocks of liquid waste contained in the tanks to buffer volumes by the agreed target date of 2015. This report and an addendum to it that was published by HSE in August 2001 are in the Libraries of the House. The February 2000 report includes at appendix B a detailed outline of the history of HLW storage at Sellafield. From this it can be seen that the first eight tanks at B215 were commissioned in 1955 with a further 13 commissioned during the period between 1970 and 1990.
There is no projected design lifespan for the highly active storage tanks. BNFL and HSE monitor them carefully to ensure that no factors have arisen that might affect their continued safe operation. To ensure defence 1129W in-depth for the continued safe operation of the HASTs, the NII continues to require BNFL to maintain one in four of the tanks in reserve as spares.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations her Department has received concerning the adequacy of current security provision at BNFL's B215 facility at Sellafield, with particular reference to waste storage containers. [37700]
§ Mr. WilsonI responded on 12 November 2001,Official Report, column 541W to a question on this matter from my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor) and the Minister for Industry and Energy responded to a question from the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) on 18 January 2002, Official Report, column 511W which concerned intermediate and high level nuclear waste storage facilities. There have also been a number of letters from hon. Members on behalf of their constituents including references to high level waste storage at Sellafield as well as a few letters received direct from the public and one from the Isle of Man Government received in January through the Lord Chancellor's Department.