HC Deb 22 April 1987 vol 114 c532W
Mr. Paddy Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Somerset in relation to emergency preparedness for a civil nuclear disaster at Hinkley Point power station, as to whether any time estimates have been made for (i) the evacuation of the population, (ii) the evacuation of high-risk groups, (iii) the evacuation of low mobility groups and (iv) the distribution of potassium iodate tablets to the population, within 10 miles of Hinkley Point in each case.

Mr. Goodlad

I have been asked to reply.

The precautions taken in the design and construction of nuclear installations in this country, and the very high safety standards applied in operating and maintaining them, make it highly unlikely that accidents will occur which might significantly affect the public. But however remote the risks, all operators of nuclear installations are required by Her Majesty's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive, as a condition of its site licences, to prepare emergency plans, including those for dealing with an accidental release of radioactivity. The same requirement also applies to the sites of the Atomic Energy Authority.

These plans, on which the police and other involved bodies must be consulted, are tested regularly in exercises monitored by Her Majesty's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. They cover both emergency procedures at the site and offsite arrangements to protect the public, including monitoring up to 40 km. and evacuation up to 1 km. for later magnox and AGR stations and 1.5 miles for earlier magnox stations. These plans are capable of extension in the improbable event of this proving necessary, but the HSE does not consider that detailed plans covering a wider area are justified. It believes that a balance needs to be struck between detailed plans that are sufficiently extensive to cope with a serious accident and the unjustified use of resources involved in planning for improbable accidents. This approach was specifically endorsed by Sir Frank Layfield in his report on Sizewell. It follows that the specific calculations and assessments sought have not been made.

In an announcement on 18 December following the first stage of a thorough review of existing plans and procedures in the light of experience of the Chernobyl accident, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister concluded that existing plans continue to provide valid basis for the response to any accident in the United Kingdom. In announcing his consent to the planning application for Sizewell B, the Secretary of State accepted the Layfield report's recommendations relating to emergency planning. These will be taken fully into account in the continuing work on the Government review.

The duties and responsibilities of police forces are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.