§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence how nuclear waste from nuclear submarines in Scottish bases is (a) processed and (b) stored; if he will list the location of any nuclear waste dumps; and what security precautions are taken in relation to the storage of nuclear missile warheads.
§ Mr. SpeedSpent nuclear fuel from submarines undergoing refit in Rosyth dockyard is transported to British Nuclear Fuels Limited's plant at Windscale where it is at present stored pending a final decision on whether it is to be reprocessed. Certain other accumulated radioactive waste is moved periodically to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at Harwell prior to sea dumping. Some very low-level contaminated material from the early refit programme, such as clothing, was buried at Rosyth dockyard, but all such material is now transported to BNFL's site at Drigg near Windscale for burial. All disposals are in accordance with appropriate United Kingdom and international regulations. Stringent precautions are taken to ensure the security of all nuclear weapons, but it would not be appropriate for me to go into details.