HC Deb 08 February 1999 vol 325 cc50-1W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to paragraph 12 of the Safeguards Office Review of The Nuclear Materials Accountancy Aspects of the UKAEA' s Dounreay Shaft Inventory report, what were(a) the number of man days expended on safeguards by Euratom inspectors and (b) the number of facility attachments, material balance areas and particular safeguards provisions applying to Dounreay. [69625]

Mr. Battle

A precise figure for the number of man-days expended by Euratom inspectors at Dounreay is not available because such information is not recorded routinely by the Safeguards Office. However, Euratom safeguards inspector presence at the site is essentially continual.

There are currently eight material balance areas at Dounreay. The particular safeguards provisions for the site are contained in a single document. In the early 1980s, the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) fuel cycle at Dounreay was designated for inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the terms of the UK/ Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement, at which time three facility attachments were agreed. No facilities at Dounreay are currently designated for inspection by the IAEA.