§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the reason for the United Kingdom request for an exception for 15 years to the prohibition on the sea disposal of low and intermediate-level radioactive substances, under the convention for the protection of the marine environment of the north-east Atlantic.
§ Mr. YeoThe convention provides no such exception: it provides that, after a 15-year moratorium which starts this year, France and the United Kingdom will each have the option to resume sea disposal of low and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The reason for preserving this option is that sea disposal may be the best practicable environmental option for certain categories of radioactive waste. It would be wrong to close off that option.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make it his policy during the further consultation period on the discharge licences for Sellafield that developed countries should aim for self-sufficiency in dealing with radioactive wastes.
§ Mr. Yeo[holding answer 14 July 1993]: It is for countries to decide their own policy in dealing with radioactive waste in the light of their international obligations.