§ Mr. Snowasked the Minister of Fuel and Power (1) whether his Department will reconsider the policy which governs the selection of sites for atomic power stations with special reference to the assumption that they may be at some distance from large towns, in view of the fact that vulnerability from enemy action is not conditioned by distance;
(2) what reasons have guided his Department's policy that atomic power stations should be located at some distance from thickly populated areas; and what destructive radius was assumed in any defence calculation.
§ Mr. Aubrey JonesAs explained in paragraphs 36 and 37 of the Government White Paper on Nuclear Power (Cmd. 9389) the projected atomic power stations will be of inherently safe design. As far as defence is concerned, therefore, their250W siting does not involve different problems from those of other power stations. As an additional safety precaution, however, they are being sited away from built-up areas.