§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if the tests listed by the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee to evaluate the suitability of nuclear materials for import, in its publication on the import and export of radioactive materials, were applied to the consignment of enriched uranium due to be sent from Georgia to Dounreay. [40672]
§ Mr. BattleThe tests listed by the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) were applied to the consignment of enriched uranium recently114W sent from Georgia to Dounreay. For the majority of the material which is unirradiated, Tests 4 and 5 are relevant, in that useful material with a positive economic value to the UK can be recovered from it. Based on these tests alone, there would be an expectation that wastes produced would be returned to the country of origin. This is also true of the wastes arising from the reprocessing of the small quantity of spent reactor fuel.
However, Tests 9 and 12 are overriding for the whole consignment in that the quantity of radioactive waste arising would be too small for the recovery processes to be practicable in the country of origin. Furthermore, Georgia could not reasonably be expected to develop suitable disposal facilities of its own for such a small amount of waste. Test 10 is also relevant in that the material accepted does not significantly add to the wastes needing to be disposed of in the UK.