Mr. Home Roberstonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if any sites in East Lothian have been considered for the storage of low level radio active waste material; and if any such sites are being considered for the storage of intermediate level radioactive waste material.
§ Mr. AncramI assume that the hon. Member is referring to the permanent disposal of waste. The selection of sites for geological investigation as a possible shallow burial repository for the disposal of low level waste is a matter for UK NIREX Ltd. Neither the Government nor NIREX consider that it would be appropriate to release details of all the sites considered before the four currently under investigation in England were selected.
NIREX are currently considering possible options for the disposal of intermediate level waste, including deep burial in a repository on land, tunnelling beneath the seabed from the shore and disposal into the seabed from a sea-based rig. A number of alternative sites will be considered by NIREX. At this stage, no area has been ruled out.