§ Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Energy what request he has made to the Health and Safety Commission for advice on the safety aspects of movement of plutonium nitrate from Dounreay to Windscale.
§ Mr. BennThe Atomic Energy Authority's plant at Dounreay for reprocessing irradiated fuel from the proto-622W type fast reactor (PFR) is planned to come into operation next summer. Plutonium derived from the reprocessing will be sent to Windscale for fabrication into new fuel elements for PFR. The authority proposes to transport the plutonium in the form of nitrate solution by sea from Scrabster to Workington, with road transport for the short distance between the ports and the reprocessing and fuel fabrication sites.
I have asked the Health and Safety Commission to advise me on the overall safety of this proposal, and the commission has instructed the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive to do this. The Departments of Transport and Trade, which has responsibilities in relation to the transport of radioactive material, will co-operate with the NH in preparing this advice. The Commission's advice will be published.