§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantities of radioactively-contaminated land there are on sites and bases owned or operated by his Department(a) in the UK and (b) abroad; if he will list the sites; what is being done to restore the land; and what is his estimate of the cost. [37837]
§ Mr. SpellarThe information required to provide the lists requested is not available. However, my Department is undertaking a programme of Land Quality Assessments (LQA) across the Defence Estate to identify contaminated land, including radioactively contaminated land. Priority is given to sites identified or being considered for disposal and sites in environmentally sensitive areas where a known threat of potential contamination exists, or is strongly suspected. Initial results from these surveys indicate that few MOD sites are affected by radioactive contamination but only some of the highest priority sites have been assessed to date.
Where radioactive contamination is identified in a LQA, the need for clean up and remediation is determined, taking into account the future use of the site, on a case by case basis. The steps required to remediate a site will depend upon the circumstances, but in all cases such work is carried out in accordance with relevant legislation. Contaminated material arising from the remediation procedure is subsequently disposed of in accordance with letters of agreement issued by the environment agencies.