§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the annual production of nuclear waste at(a) Rosyth dockyard, (b) Devonport dockyard and (c) the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, for each year from 1986 to date, broken down by category of waste; and how much of each category of waste is presently held at each site. [19783]
§ Dr. Reid[holding answer 9 December 1997]: The annual figures for the production of nuclear waste at the Atomic WeaponsEstablishment (AWE) Aldermaston for the years 1986 to date, and the current holding, are set out as follows:
AWE Aldermaston Year Low level wasteSolids(m3) Intermediate levelwasteSolids(m3) 1986 3,776 162 1987 1,910 219 1988 824 230 1989 1,350 152 1990 1,775 103 1991 1,512 154 1992 1,594 141 1993 2,205 71 1994 1,676 36 1995 1,626 41 1996 1,728 78 Current holdings on site 487 2,549 The date for Rosyth and Devonport Royal Dockyards is maintained by the companies that now own the Dockyards, as required under the terms of their nuclear site licences.
For Low Level Waste, the figures available from 1986 to date, and shown in the table, are based on the volume of waste disposed of, not the volume of waste produced, but a close relationship between the two may be assumed. Current holdings of Low Level Waste are also shown.
Royal Dockyards—Low level waste (Solids) Year Rosyth (m3) Devonport (m3) 1986 130 Not held 1987 192 211 1988 116 40 1989 76 72 1990 171 108 1991 38 54 1992 53 86 1993 31 20 1994 127 75 1995 96 126 1996 154 40 Current holdings on site (estimated) 31 27 For Intermediate Level Waste, the production figures are not readily available in this form as they do not have to be recorded year on year. Intermediate Level Waste holdings change as new waste is produced, and as 162W accumulated waste undergoes radioactive decay until it changes into Low Level Waste and can be disposed of. There is no straightforward correlation between holding and production figures. Current holdings of Intermediate Level Waste are as follows:
Royal Dockyards—Intermediate level waste (Solids) Year Rosyth(m3) Devonport (m3) Current holdings on site (estimated) 20 25
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines are currently awaiting disposal; where they are presently located; and what estimate he has made of the amount of nuclear material present in each submarine, separated into high, intermediate and low. [19786]
§ Dr. Reid[holding answer 9 December 1997]: There are 11 decommissioned nuclear powered submarines awaiting disposal. The location of each is as follows:
Location Dreadnought Rosyth Churchill Rosyth Swiftsure Rosyth Revenge Rosyth Resolution Rosyth Warspite Devonport Conqueror Devonport Courageous Devonport Valiant Devonport Renown Rosyth Repulse Rosyth Two of these submarines (Renown and Repulse) are to undergo defuelling, prior to interim storage afloat pending disposal. These are the only submarines which contain high level waste in the form of the spent fuel cores. I am withholding information about the exact amount of high level material contained within the submarines under exemptions la-c of the Code of Practice on Access to Government information.
Immediately after the defuelling process there are 75 tonnes of intermediate level material and 140 tonnes of low level material, which will decay in time, in each submarine. Within the intermediate level material there is a mix of long life and short life material, decaying at different rates, and it is not possible to estimate readily the tonnages of radioactive material on individual submarines at this time. During storage afloat, the submarines are regularly monitored and maintained to ensure that they pose no health hazard to dockyard workers or the public.