§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when officials were first notified that the consignment of nuclear material from Georgia included(a) weapons-grade and (b) low-grade nuclear material; who provided the details of the low-grade nuclear material in the consignment; on which dates each minister in each department was informed by her officials that the Georgian consignment contained low-grade nuclear material; which public bodies were informed of the presence of the low-grade material; and on what dates. [46245]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 16 June 1998]: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reported in his answer of 18 June 1998, Official Report, column 314, officials were notified in July 1997 that the Georgian Government would agree to the removal of all the remaining nuclear material in Georgia. The particular focus at the time was on the unirradiated and irradiated highly enriched uranium. The technical information relating to the probable nature of the consignment was among detailed documents received from US officials in February 1998 in the course of a meeting on security and transport issues. These details were passed promptly to technical specialists at Dounreay so that they could make all necessary preparations for the receipt and safekeeping of the Georgian material.
Due to a breakdown of communications between technical specialists and DTI policy officials, Ministers were first informed that the consignment contained low-enriched uranium on 5 June and the information was notified to the House on 10 June 1998, Official Report, columns 594–95.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the report, the Social and Economic Effects of Dounreay's Projected Programme of Work, 1995–2005, prepared by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, in September 1995, prior to the decision on Dounreay announced on 5 June 1998,Official Report, columns 385–86. [45773]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 17 June 1998]: Nothing is more important than safety in the operation of nuclear licensed sites. Within this overriding requirement, the decision to accept no new commercial reprocessing at Dounreay was taken on economic grounds after receiving advice from UKAEA. Before making its recommendations to my Department, UKAEA has taken into account all relevant information they have produced, including any the report referred to may contain. UKAEA have also assured me that there will be no sudden major job losses resulting from the Government announcement on 5 June. As the 371W reprocessing plants at Dounreay complete their work, most of the staff attached to them will be required for their decommissioning, which will continue for many years. Taken together with other important investments at Dounreay, including the remediation of the waste shaft there, it is unlikely that employment at Dounreay will decline significantly over the next few decades.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how far into the decommissioning timetable the United Kingdom will be able to fulfil its treaty obligations in relation to the reprocessing of nuclear material at Dounreay. [47718]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 29 June 1998]: Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty requires Member States to provide to the European Commission certain data relating to any plan for the disposal of radioactive waste. The Commission then has six months in which to deliver its opinion on the plan. In relation to the decommissioning of the Dounreay reprocessing plants, we shall take the necessary steps to comply with our Treaty obligation when the UKAEA have a firm and detailed plan for the disposal of the radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning.
§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the existing commercial reprocessing contracts which remain to be carried out at Dounreay. [47758]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 30 June 1998]: The fuel cycle area at Dounreay has signed commercial contracts outstanding for fuel fabrication, fissile material recovery, and reprocessing. I have written to the Chairman of the UKAEA requesting him to prepare the information that can be made public and to seek the agreement of their commercial customers. His reply will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the Prime Minister's reply of 25 June 1998,Official Report, column 598, if, during the meeting in Washington on 24 February, her Department's officials and their security advisers were informed of the US Government's wish to transport to Dounreay the additional quantity of 9kg of low-enriched uranium; and if she will make a statement. [48929]
§ Mr. BattleAt the meeting in Washington on 24 February, technical information on the probable nature of the consignment was among the documents received from US officials. The exact amount and type of material in the Georgian consignment could be confirmed only once it had all been unloaded and checked at Dounreay. The precise quantities were given in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 10 June 1998,Official Report, column 598.
§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the(a) country and (b) establishment of origin of the nine kilograms of low-enriched uranium included in the shipment of nuclear material from Georgia to Dounreay; if it was contained in the same flight as the highly enriched uranium and spent fuel rods from Tbilisi; from which airfield it left the former USSR for its destination at Kinloss; at what exact time and date it arrived at Kinloss; and if she will make a statement. [48928]
372W
§ Mr. BattleThe low-enriched uranium included in the consignment of nuclear material from Georgia to Dounreay came from the same research institute at Tbilisi in Georgia as the high-enriched uranium. All the nuclear material arrived in one American transport aircraft which departed from the airport at Tbilisi in Georgia on 23 April, flew directly to the UK, and landed at Kinloss at 0206 GMT on 24 April.
§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many flights were required to transport the recent consignment of nuclear material from Georgia to Kinloss; how many cargo aeroplanes flew from Georgia to Kinloss during April; what were the contents of each of these aeroplanes; at what exact times and dates the aeroplanes landed at Kinloss; and if she will make a statement. [48927]
§ Mr. BattleOne American military transport aircraft, a Galaxy C5, was used to fly all the nuclear material in the Georgian consignment to Kinloss. It arrived at Kinloss at 0206 GMT on 24 April. A second American Galaxy C5, containing specialised handling equipment to assist with unloading the containers at the Dounreay site, arrived at Kinloss at 1547 GMT on 25 April.