HC Deb 15 November 1979 vol 973 cc723-5W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) whether the precautions taken to protect the movement of nuclear waste through London are such that no attempts made by terrorists, anarchists, and saboteurs could succeed; and whether he is able to give an assurance that the blowing up of these flasks would cause no damage to the population in general, and to those in Stratford in particular;

(2) whether he is satisfied that the flasks of radio-active spent fuel which travel through East London can withstand bazooka attacks, and that no such attacks are possible at any point during the transport of this material.

Mr. Norman Lamont

A typical flask might hold up to 200 irradiated fuel elements containing a mixture of up to 2 tonnes uranium, and 5kg of plutonium—which are recovered for further use by reprocessing—together with highly radioactive substances representing about 1 per cent. of the total mass. The highly radioactive substances would include up to 10 grams of ruthenium 106.

The massive structure of the steel flasks used to carry these fuel elements by rail makes them highly resistant to sabotage. It is not possible for the irradiated fuel to explode. Any attempt to destroy a flask and its contents by blowing it up would require the use of several tons of explosive. The use of explosives in such quantities would itself represent a major threat to the safety of those in the surrounding area. A terrorist with such resources could use them to produce greater damage to life and property by other sorts of attack.

Use of a smaller amount of explosive might create a hole in a flask. In theory a similar result might be achieved with a sophisticated anti-tank weapon, but such an attack is less likely to be effective. Making a hole might lead to some radiation hazard in the immediate vicinity of the flask from radiation emerging from the hole, and from the possible leakage of up to 220 gallons of slightly contaminated water. It might also lead, through oxidation of the fuel elements, to a subsequent slow release over a period of hours of a small proportion of the flask's radioactive contents. Appropriate measures would be taken to counter this. In this connection, emergency plans exist for dealing with incidents involving fuel in transit, including those in which there might be a release of radio-activity. Action under them would include, where necessary and as a precautionary measure, temporary evacuation of the immediate area around the site of an incident. In these circumstances it is judged that there would be low radiation exposure and little risk to the population of that area. In view of the public interest, however, I am having a special study made of a situation which assumes that a flask has been damaged in this way, and will write to the hon. Member in due course.

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