§ Mr. CannTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to ensure(a) that there is available a sufficient supply of potassium iodate tablets for distribution to the population living within 25 miles of Sizewell A and B nuclear reactors for use in the event of there occurring a major accident and (b) that the tablets can be distributed within 24 hours of an accident occurring.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe detailed emergency planning zone around the Sizewell nuclear power station extends to a radius of 2.5 km. The size of such zones is formally approved by the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate and is based on a "reference accident" for the reactor type in question. The reference accident is the maximum size of an accident that can 389W reasonably be foreseen. While accidents worse than the reference accident could occur, this probability is so remote that detailed emergency planning against their consequences is not justified.
The provision of potassium iodate tablets is one of a number of countermeasures for which local emergency plans must make provision. Responsibility for the preparation and maintenance of arrangements for responding to nuclear emergencies in respect of particular nuclear installations currently rests with the operators, in consultation with local authorities, health authorities, the emergency services and other interests. The hon. Member may therefore wish to write to the chairman of Nuclear Electric for further information about the arrangements at Sizewell power station.