§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Prime Minister what are the responsibilities of the various Departments of Her Majesty's Government for allocation of permission for disposal of, for control and monitoring, for consideration of the health consequences and for all other aspects of discharge and disposal of all kinds of radioactive waste in the United Kingdom and in territorial and international waters.
§ The Prime MinisterUnder the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, in England control over the disposal648W or discharge of radioactive wastes to land, sea or air is exercised by the Secretary of State for the Environment and, in the case of disposal of radioactive wastes on or from the premises of the UKAEA and sites licensed under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, as amended, control is exercised jointly with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In Scotland and Wales control is exercised solely by the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, control is exercised by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.
Under the Dumping at Sea Act 1974, the disposal at sea of packaged low level radioactive waste, loaded at an English port, additionally has to be licensed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. If waste were loaded in Scotland, the Secretary of State for Scotland, in Wales, the Secretary of State for Wales, and in Northern Ireland the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland would be responsible for licensing.
Disposal arrangements are also subject to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, for which the Secretary of State for Employment is responsible in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland the legislation applicable is the Health and Safety at Work Order 1978 and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is responsible. In addition, NIREX's proposed disposal sites will be subject to licensing by Her Majesty's Nuclear Installations. Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive and appropriate regulations will be brought forward in due course.
In England the Secretary of State for the Environment is responsible for initiating and co-ordinating monitoring of the environmental pathways by which radionuclides can be transmitted to man. The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is responsible for initiating and co-ordinating monitoring of pathways to man through the food chains and the marine environment. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the respective Secretaries of State are responsible for the monitoring of all pathways. The responsibility for consideration of the health consequences of discharges and disposals of all kinds of radioactive waste, in England, lies with the Secretary of State for Social Services; the responsibilities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland lie with their respective Secretaries of State.
The overall responsibility for radioactive waste management strategy, whether in the context of nuclear power or from other waste sources, lies with the Secretary of State for the Environment together with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales.
The Secretary of State for Defence is responsible for the management of radioactive wastes from the defence programme, and there is close liaison between the Ministry of Defence and the relevant civil Departments to ensure that the standards applied within MoD are at least 649W as rigorous as those observed by civil organisations and that the disposal of both kinds of waste, taken together, is environmentally acceptable.