§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if any military contract work has been undertaken by the atomic energy development establishment at Dounreay;
(2) if the Dounreay reprocessing facility has reprocessed any fuel from the Herald reactor at Aldermaston.
§ Mr. BaldryThe Dounreay reprocessing facility reprocesses, under safeguards, all the fuel from the Herald materials test reactor (MTR) under a contract with the Ministry of Defence. Dounreay also provides waste management services to the adjacent Vulcan establishment and undertakes the post-irradiation examination of some components from that establishment, neither of which involves the MTR fuel cycle at Dounreay.
§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if any changes in the present safeguards regime at the atomic energy development establishment at Dounreay will be requested by the new reprocessing contracts the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is developing with reactor operators in Berlin, Madrid and Petter.
§ Mr. BaldryNo changes to safeguards would be required.
§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish the co-operation agreement between the United States of America and United Kingdom governments, for the reprocessing at Dounreay of test reactor fuel pins.
§ Mr. BaldryI am not aware that such an agreement exists.
§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations have taken place with his counterpart in the United States of America concerning matters of520W physical protection and travel of highly enriched uranium fuel originating in the United States of America to be reprocessed at Dounreay from reactors in Madrid, Petter and Berlin.
§ Mr. BaldryI have had no specific consultations about this particular issue. However, physical protection and transport of nuclear materials have featured in the regular discussions of matters of common interest between officials from my Department and officials from the United States Government.