§ Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many price increases have been imposed or contemplated and announced by British Railways since January 1974 and up to June 1977, in percentage terms.
§ Mr. William RodgersBritish Railways have made the following increases from January 1974 to date.
Radioactivity (NAIR) assistance is provided in two stages. The first stage enables the police to call upon experienced personnel who can advise them on appropriate action in the event of an incident and the second provides more sophisticated resources should these be necessary.
In the Newcastle area first-stage assistance is provided by a team of hospital physicists skilled in radioactivity operating from the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Newcastle General Hospital which are both located within 1½ miles of the Central Station. At night, members of the team are available on call from their homes which are situated within a radius of 10 miles of the hospitals.
Similar arrangements apply for the second-stage assistance, which is provided by the Central Electricity Generating Board power station at Hartlepool. A team of radiological experts with specialist 599W equipment and instruments is available on 24-hour call.
The existence of such teams operating in this way ensures that expert assistance is always available even during holiday periods and in the event of sickness of individuals.
§ Mr. Cowansasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the number of flasks for the conveyance of irradiated fuel in current use by (a) British Railways and (b) road haulage.
§ Mr. HoramThere are approximately 100 flasks currently available for use for the conveyance of irradiated fuel. The flasks are designed to be carried by road or rail and the mode of transport selected is dictated by the starting and destination points of individual journeys. Many flask movements involve transport by both modes.
§ Mr. Cowansasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the period of time which elapses between the issue of a certificate to the designers of flasks for the conveyance of irradiated fuel and the actual re-examination of the flask after it has been in use to ascertain that it still complies with the regulations required for the certificate of approval.
§ Mr. HoramBefore each movement each flask has to be examined or tested to ensure that it is properly closed.
Comprehensive periodic inspections, as detailed in the maintenance schedules approved by the competent authority, are carried out, normally at yearly intervals.
§ Mr. Cowansasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many certificates have been issued by his Department to designers of flasks for the conveyance of irradiated nuclear fuel; of the number of certificates issued, how many have been issued to (a) United Kingdom based manufacturers and (b) non-United Kingdom manufacturers, broken down by country of origin; and if he will list the approved firms by name.
§ Mr. HoramThere are 21 basic flask designs of British origin so far approved. These flasks are designed, owned and operated by either the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, Nuclear Transport Ltd, the600W Central Electricity Generating Board, South of Scotland Electricity Board or Rolls-Royce Associates, for the Ministry of Defence.
Of the foreign designs in use, four originate in France and one in the USA These will have been approved by the competent authority for those countries and subsequently validated by the United Kingdom competent authority for all modes of transport.
All of the basic designs will have an associated flask design approval certificate. However, additional certification is required if the type of contents changes or there are variations in the internal packaging.