§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what attempt will be made by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to recover the costs of cleaning up the uranium dumped at the Chelveston farm in Northamptonshire from those responsible for the radioactive pollution of the area;
(2) if he will ask Her Majesty's chief inspector of pollution to establish an investigation into the fly tipping of uranium at a farm in Chelveston, Northamptonshire; and if he will make it his policy to publish the report of such an investigation.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe scrap metal containing uranium found on land at Poplar farm, Caldecott, Northamptonshire is of unknown origin. Investigations are continuing to try and trace the source of the material and those involved in its movement. As the results of this investigation may form the basis of a prosecution under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, detailed information will not be published until any such enforcement action is completed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. The possibility of recovering costs of waste removal and clean up of the site will also be fully investigated.
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§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the process and timetable for the investigation of the Drigg low-level radioactive waste disposal site by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer given Thursday 19 January 1995]: Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has already thoroughly investigated allegations made by Greenpeace about Drigg, following its illegal entry to the site and has confirmed that there has been no breach of the site's certificate of authorisation. The certificate of authorisation contains conditions and limits which impose specific requirements on the company, relating to the type of waste disposed of, the method of disposal and the radioactive content of disposals made. HMIP is satisfied that operations at the site properly protect the public.
With regard to the more general question of the disposal of radioactive waste at landfill sites, the Government's consultation document "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions", published on 5 August, proposed that there may be advantage in encouraging waste producers to make greater use of such controlled burial. This form of disposal is already used by major hospitals and universities and some sections of the nuclear industry for their low-level waste, and the proposals do not involve any deregulation. Encouraging greater use of controlled burial would help to relieve pressure on capacity at Drigg.
However, this remains only a proposal, and there are no plans in relation to specific sites. The consultation document invited views on the subject, and these are currently receiving careful consideration. A statement of future policy will be made in due course.
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the effect of low-level radioactive waste dumping in landfill sites on house prices in the vicinity of authorised sites.
§ Mr. AtkinsNone.