§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what requests have been made to Shell by his Department for reports on onshore dismantling of Brent Spar by Smit Engineering and Heeremac; and if he will make a statement. [34662]
§ Mr. EggarMy Department has made no such requests. As indicated in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross (Ms Cunningham) on 4 July 1995,Official Report, column 154, two reports dealing with onshore disposal, one by McDermott Engineering (Europe) Ltd. the other by Heerema Engineering Services (UK) Ltd. were submitted to my Department by Shell in support of its abandonment programme.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many tests have been conducted on the radioactivity of the scale on the inside of the Brent Spar; how many samples of sludge from the Brent Spar's six tanks were analysed; and if he will give the reasons for the amount of testing; [34509]
(2) how many samples were taken, and what analysis was conducted, on the Brent Spar and its waste water at any stage since shell indicated its wish to remove it from its former site. [24510]
1215W
§ Mr. EggarIndependent surveys were carried out which enabled Shell to assess the contents of the Spar and to satisfy Government that deep-sea disposal is the best practicable environmental option.