§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy for what time periods the low, intermediate and high level radioactive wastes respectively, arising from the reprocessing of foreign spent oxide nuclear fuel at the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield, may be stored at the site before being repatriated.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryContracts containing provisions for the return of waste from reprocessing during the first 10 years of operation of British Nuclear Fuel's thermal oxide reprocessing plant allow a period of up to 25 years following the year of reprocessing for the return of conditioned waste. Contracts signed in 1990 for reprocessing in the second 10 years of THORP operations provide that conditioned waste will normally be returned within five years.
It is planned to return high-level waste, which contains 98 per cent. of the activity of all wastes, as soon as practicable after vitrification. The detailed negotiation of this programme is a matter for BNFL and its customers who must complete facilities for the receipt and storage of the vitrified waste before it can be returned. It is expected that even for the initial baseload contracts the return will begin within five to 10 years of the fuel being reprocessed.