§ Mr. Lightbownasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received the report of the independent review of disposal of radioactive waste at sea, chaired by Professor Holliday; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe report of the independent review of sea disposal in the Atlantic, commissioned by the Government and the Trades Union Congress, has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library at the House. My right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and I are indebted to Professor Holliday and the three members of his team for their report, which is an extensive and searching review of the scientific evidence and of all the issues. We shall be discussing it with the Trades Union Congress in the new year. The report recognises that the science undertaken in the United Kingdom, relating to the disposal of radioactive wastes at sea, has been of the highest quality; and that the methematical modelling used to assess the safety of dumping may overestimate rather than underestimate the risks to man. The report reveals no evidence of harm to man or the natural environment. But in the team's view there remain some uncertainties about the long-term natural processes involved.
They recommend that the use of the sea disposal route for low and intermediate-level wastes should not be resumed until completion of the international reviews now in progress. We accept that recommendation, which allows for the scheduled completion by September 1985 of the London dumping convention review, and the review of the site by the nuclear energy agency of the 580W Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, also due to be completed in 1985. In addition future dumping would also be subject to any changes that might be made to the definition of prohibited wastes which is currently being considered by the Internatioal Atomic Energy Agency.
Secondly, the report recommends that a comparative assessment should be made and published of all disposal and storage options, whether at sea or on land, in order to establish the best practicable environmental options for the various types of low and intermediate-level radioactive waste. My Department will carry out such an assessment, in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and with the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, with the aim of producing a published report by the summer of next year.
The report makes further recommendations about research, on the storage of radioactive waste, and on the exclusion from sea dumping of persistent synthetic materials which may float. The Government accept these recommendtions and we are considering how best to implement them. As regards monitoring, we will discuss with other member countries of the NEA whether the existing international programme should be extended.