§ 30. Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, following the recent accident on the Winchester Bypass, he is satisfied that the safety precautions for carrying nuclear fuels in road vehicles are adequate.
§ Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to regulations that vehicles carrying nuclear fuels should be given police escort throughout their journey.
§ Mr. HoramThe safety of all radio-active material in transit is ensured by the type of packaging used which varies according to the level of radioactivity involved. In the case of irradiated nuclear fuel elements, the flasks used are designed to standards which would enable them to withstand very severe accident conditions involving both impact and fire. Because of these built-in design features it is not considered necessary on safety grounds to regulate for police escorts to be provided.
§ Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, following the recent accident on the Winchester Bypass, he is satisfied that the safety precautions for the transport of nuclear fuels by road are adequate; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HoramYes. The carriage of all radioactive material in the United Kingdom is governed by stringent regulations and codes of practice, based on internationally agreed standards. This incident involved natural uranium hexafluoride, which, in the radioactive sense, is an innocuous material, and the absence of any spillage is evidence of the adequacy of the packaging used.