§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the current safety situation at the Sellafield nuclear installations, with respect to(a) operating buildings, (b) abandoned buildings and (c) waste storage facilities; and if she will make a statement. [46956]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 22 June 1998]: The management of safety at Sellafield is a matter for the operator of the site, BNFL, in accordance with the requirements of the UK's independent nuclear safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (HSE's NII). Under the terms of its nuclear site licence, BNFL must demonstrate to HSE's satisfaction that all operations at Sellafield, including decommissioning of redundant plant and waste storage, are adequately safe. HSE undertakes rigorous monitoring and assessment of BNFL's safety management arrangements and has extensive powers to enforce any safety related actions it considers necessary.
Additional expert scrutiny of safety issues associated with the UK civil nuclear industry, including activities at the Sellafield site, is provided by the independent Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee (NuSAC). NuSAC publishes a biennial report setting out details of its work. Its current programme includes consideration of a number of issues relating to the Sellafield site.