§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from European Governments about proposals by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. to enter national airspace with planes carrying plutonium waste. [2156]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThis Department has not received any representations from European governments in connection with any plans by UK airlines to carry plutonium waste on behalf of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. through their airspace. Neither, I understand, has the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Department of Environment.
§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he plans to approve proposals by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. to fly plutonium waste from the United Kingdom to Europe. [2157]
§ Ms JacksonThere are no plans for plutonium waste to be transported by air to, or from, the United Kingdom.
Since 1973 Mixed Oxide (MoX) fuel has been transported from BNFL by air. Currently there are about six flights a year to European destinations. MoX comprises oxides of uranium with a small proportion of plutonium and is carried in ceramic form in packages meeting International Atomic Energy Agency standards. In the unlikely event of an aircraft accident MoX poses no significant risk to public health.
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