§ Mr. Geoffrey Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what action has been taken by his Department to ensure that inspectors from Euratom and the International Atomic Energy Agency are allowed to examine the Magnox reprocessing line at Sellafield.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Energy if the Magnox reprocessing line at Sellafield is subject to inspection by Euratom.
§ Mr. GoodladEuratom safeguards arrangements for magnox fuel cover all movements of civil material to and from the Sellafield reprocessing plant, which are reported to it and the IAEA on a routine basis. Euratom inspectors have access to the civil magnox reactors and to the plutonium product storage facilities at Sellafield. Thus they are aware of the amounts and location of the civil material.
As the magnox reprocessing plant at BNF Sellafield co-processes fuel from the civil magnox reactors of the CEGB and the SSEB, together with that arising from the military reactors at Chapel Cross and Calder Hall, the Government cannot accept for national security reasons an inspection regime for the plant which would reveal classified information on the production of military material.
On accession to the Euratom treaty in 1973 it was recognised by the United Kingdom Government and Euratom that these considerations could make the negotiations of a mutually satisfactory inspection regime for the plant very difficult.
Negotiations on an inspection regime to cover the reprocessing plant are continuing and following a recent visit to the plant by representatives of Euratom new proposals are under consideration.