§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will take action to require British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. to reduce discharge levels at Sellafield to 0.5TBg alpha (13.5 Ci alpha) per year;
(2) whether he will instruct British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. to stop further radioactive discharges from Sellafield in view of the recent report of the radioactive waste management advisory committee;
(3) what action he proposes on the recommendations of the radioactive waste management committee on Sellafield in its fifth annual report.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh) on 4 July at columns 159–60. The committee did not recommend a complete cessation of discharges. However, Her Majesty's Government are committed to ensuring that they meet the highest standards that are reasonably achievable, and are considering what further action should be taken to this end in the light of studies being carried out by British Nuclear Fuels PLC. The levels of discharge achieved elsewhere are one of the factors the committee identified as relevant to such decisions, but it is not necessarily a decisive one.