§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the fires which occurred at the atomic weapons establishment, Aldermaston on 10 and 20 October 1993, listed as incident numbers 13390 and 14095 by Berkshire fire and rescue service.
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§ Mr. AitkenAWE does not hold a record of the incident numbers used by the Berkshire fire and rescue service, but, on 10 October 1993, a glove in contact with a laboratory hot plate smouldered causing activation of an automatic fire detection system. On 20 October 1993, a small high voltage electrical unit split resulting in an oil fire. Both incidents were quickly dealt with by the AWE fire service. Berkshire fire and rescue service was informed as a matter of routine.
§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress being made in negotiations with Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution regarding the cleaning up of the north area ponds at AWE Aldermaston; and if he will place in the Library copies of the reports detailing the extent of contamination of these ponds.
§ Mr. AitkenAWE holds regular discussions with Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on a range of environmental issues. The development of engineering options for water management, as well as cleaning up the contamination in the North Ponds, form part of these discussions. AWE safety division has undertaken a detailed radiological survey of the ponds which details the nature and the extent of the contamination, which is not of radiological concern and exists only in an access-controlled location. This survey is one of many that AWE undertakes for its own management purposes. It is not appropriate to place a copy of this report in the Library.
§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the policy of the AWE Aldermaston fire service towards providing reports of all fires that have occurred at the site to Berkshire fire and rescue service.
§ Mr. AitkenThe policy of the AWE Aldermaston fire service is to notify Berkshire fire and rescue service of all calls it receives. In addition to fires this will include automatic detection equipment false alarms and mistaken call-outs. Reports are provided to the Berkshire fire and rescue service where appropriate.
§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence who is responsible for carrying out and paying for all decommissioning works carried out at AWE Aldermaston; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AitkenThe MoD is responsible for the costs of decommissioning works carried out at AWE Aldermaston. Management of the decommissioning task is performed by Hunting-BRAE plc on behalf of the MoD, and decommissioning activities may be undertaken either by Hunting-BRAE directly or by suitable sub-contractors.