HC Deb 18 July 2000 vol 354 c106W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the respective stockpiles of reprocessed uranium from(a) magnox fuel, (b) AOR fuel, (c) SGHWR fuel and (d) fast reactor fuel have been re-cycled in new fuel to date; and if he will list the quantities and current locations of the reprocessed uranium stored to date. [129967]

Mrs. Liddell

Proportion(a) is approximately 50 per cent. Proportion (b) is 0 per cent. Proportions (c) and (d) cannot be calculated without incurring disproportionate cost, because UKAEA does not separately distinguish the source of the uranium which it uses for fuel manufacture.

My Department published the figure of holdings of civil depleted, natural and low enriched uranium at 31 December 1999 on 13 June. This material is stored at licensed civil nuclear sites in the UK.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which(a) Government Departments, in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Japan, (b) en route states, (c) nuclear regulatory bodies and (d) non-governmental groups in (1) the United Kingdom, (2) Japan and (3) en route states were consulted on the decision to return plutonium MOX fuel to Sellafield; what considerations underlay the decision to transport the plutonium fuel; what other options were considered; what his estimate is of the cost of the shipment and subsequent processing at Sellafield; and what is the basis for his estimate. [130850]

Mrs. Liddell

The agreements announced on 11 July on resolving the problem of the MOX fuel at Takahama in Japan followed discussions between BNFL and its Japanese customer, Kansai Electric Power Company, and between the UK and Japanese Governments.

The Government's support for BNFL's decision followed full consultation across Departments. The cost of the return shipment and the subsequent handling of the fuel at Sellafield is a commercial matter for BNFL.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the total cost of returning the defective MOX fuel from Japan to the United Kingdom; and if he will break down the main components of the cost. [131301]

Mrs. Liddell

British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) is responsible for the return of the MOX fuel in Japan. The fuel will be returned at BNFL's expense. The cost is a commercial matter for BNFL.