§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the cost to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. of removing radioactivity from nuclear waste in 1982 and 1983; and what is the current level of spending by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. to reduce radioactive discharges from its establishments.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI have been asked to reply.
The following information has been provided by British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). Waste treatment is an intrinsic part of BNFL's spent fuel reprocessing operations which entail separating waste products from re-usable material. For reasons of commercial confidentiality BNFL does not separately disclose the cost of operating different parts of the nuclear fuel cycle. However, the income derived from reprocessing, waste treatment and irradiated fuel transport operations in the 1982–83 financial year and the estimated income from such services in 1983–84 amount to about £190 million and £210 million respectively.
BNFL's current capital expenditure programme to reduce further the level of radioactive discharges from Sellafield is estimated at about £190 million spread over several years up to 1987.