Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Hansard, 13 January 1994)

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration was given to the option of permanent monitored dry storage of spent nuclear fuel as a nuclear waste management option in arriving at his judgment on THORP.

§ Mr. Atkins
The dry storage of spent nuclear fuel was addressed in the waste management section (paragraphs 98–108) of the decision by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of an application from British Nuclear Fuels for authorisations to discharge radioactive wastes from the Sellafield site. Copies of the decision document are in the House Library.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the basis for his conclusion set out at paragraph 131 of his decision document on THORP of 15 December that the increase in costs of the Nirex waste repository would not jeopardise the economic viability of THORP.

§ Mr. Atkins
An estimate of the impact of a 10-year delay to the Nirex repository is given in section 6 of appendix 3 to the BNFL document, "The Economic and Commercial Justification for THORP", which was made available for public consultation. It is evident that such a sum would not jeopardise the commercial gains shown in that appendix.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of the advice notes and other information made available to his Department, along with interdepartmental correspondence, by(a) the Department of Transport, (b) the Department of Trade and Industry, (c) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (d) the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and (e) the National Radiological Protection Board as part of the consultation process on THORP referred to at paragraph 20 of his decision document on THORP of 15 December.

§ Mr. Atkins
No, other than copies of the advice from the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and the National Radiological Protection Board which have already been placed in the Library of the House.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, when British Nuclear Fuels made available to his Department or to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a full version of the Touche Ross accountants report on the projected profitability of THORP; and what assessment was made of the robustness of the report in coming to the conclusion on the economic prospects for THORP as set out as paragraph 133 of his decision document on THORP of 15 December.

§ Mr. Atkins
No such report is, or has been, in our possession.