§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what percentage of imported spent oxide fuel has been kept in the United Kingdom without having been reprocessed since 1979;
(2) what has been the tonnage of spent oxide fuel imported from overseas since 1979.
§ Mr. GoodladFrom 1 January 1979 to 31 December 1985 approximately, 1,230 teu of spent oxide fuel was imported from overseas. Of this about 14 tonnes were temporarily held in the United Kingdom while in transit to other countries. The balance is stored at Sellafield pending reprocessing in the thermal oxide reprocessing plant which is presently under construction.
Since 1976 BNFL's contracts for the reprocessing of overseas spent fuel have contained options for the return 130W of wastes. As I said in my answer to the hon. Member on 2 May at columns 502–503, the Government intend that the options should be exercised and that the wastes should be returned.