§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on(a) current reprocessing contracts at Dounreay, (b) future reprocessing contracts at Dounreay and (c) future reprocessing contracts at Dounreay involving processed fuel. [59925]
§ Mr. BattleOn 5 June 1998, the Government announced that they had accepted UKAEA' s recommendation that it should accept no new commercial reprocessing contracts at Dounreay and would end reprocessing once its committed commercial business and own spent fuel liabilities had been completed. In answer to a question following the announcement, 5 June 1998,Official Report, columns 385-86, UKAEA provided details of Dounreay' s reprocessing contracts to the House of Commons library and also to the Trade and Industry Committee's inquiry into Georgian nuclear material.
The Fuel Cycle Area at Dounreay is currently shut down following the Health and Safety Executive's direction to halt operations after the loss of electrical supplies in May 1998 and will restart only when HSE is satisfied it is safe to do so.