§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on discussions at European Community level on a common nuclear storage facility. [128172]
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§ Mr. MorleyI am not aware of any such discussions. However, the European Commission has presented a proposal to the Council for a Euratom Directive on the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. The draft Directive would require each member state to establish a clearly defined programme for radioactive waste management that includes all radioactive waste under its jurisdiction and covers all stages of management. The Commission"s draft favours disposal in a deep repository, without the intention of retrieval, as the most suitable method for long-term management of the most hazardous forms of solid and solidified radioactive waste.
The draft directive also provides that a member state"s programme may include shipments of radioactive waste or spent fuel to another member state or third country if such shipments are:
- (i) fully in compliance with existing EU legislation, principally Directive 92/3/Euratom, and international commitments;
- (ii) covered by firm contracts;
- (iii) made only to states with appropriate facilities that meet accepted norms and standards of the member state of origin; and
- (iv) are conducted under adequate safeguards, where they involve ores, source materials and "special fissile materials" (uranium and plutonium).
The Government are actively engaged in discussion of the Commission's proposal in the Council working group. However, my Department is also currently carrying out a programme of consultation and public participation to develop a long term radioactive waste management policy. That process will examine all the management options available, with no presumption in favour of deep disposal.