§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the(a) origin of the reactor, (b) isotopic composition, (c) point of departure, (d) mode of transport and (e) final end-use of the United Kingdom plutonium exported to the United States of America between 1970 and 1988 in (i) the form of fuel elements and (ii) other forms. [119256]
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§ Mrs. LiddellWhenever the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority or BNFL export United Kingdom plutonium under civil arrangements they keep certain records. These records include the total amount of plutonium exported and the United Kingdom owner of the plutonium. They do not include details of the particular reactor in which the plutonium was produced. This reflects the fact that spent fuel from different UK civil reactors and belonging to different owners may be reprocessed at the same time and that the plutonium arising from reprocessing ceases to have a separate reactor-specific identity. Plutonium is attributed to an owner based on an estimate of the fissile content of the irradiated fuel originally supplied, usually on an annual basis. The specific plutonium atoms allocated to an owner are not necessarily the same atoms that the owner originally supplied.
All exports of United Kingdom plutonium to the United States under civil arrangements have been subject to relevant bilateral and international arrangements to ensure that the material exported is used exclusively for peaceful, non-explosive purposes. The precise end use to which such exported plutonium has been put is however, a matter for the United States.
Information relating to the isotopic composition, point of departure and the mode of transport used for each export is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
England Scotland Wales Month Respiratory diseases VWF Respiratory diseases VWF Respiratory diseases VWF January 397 863 44 79 83 152 February 277 672 21 49 98 77 March 282 1,062 9 98 109 163 April 365 520 25 95 61 110 Total 1,321 3,117 99 321 351 502 With regard to VWF, the Department remains on track to have tested all claims registered to date by summer next year, with interim settlement offers following shortly afterwards. The majority of claimants will receive final settlement offers by summer the following year.
As for respiratory disease, given the number of claimants—over 104,000 to date—it may take two to three years before all claims are complete. We introduced in March last year a national programme of spirometry, the first state of the Medical Assessment Process, which has seen nearly 50,000 claimants tested, with a further 11,000 invited to make appointments. With nearly 69,000 live claims this means in just over 12 months we have contacted 90 per cent. of claimants.
By the end of June we expect that 2,000 claimants will have gone through the second stage of the MAP and by September that the number of second stage medical assessments will be up to 4,000 a month. In order to sustain these levels we will of course require similar numbers of completed form packs from solicitors.
512WExport of United Kingdom plutonium to the United States under non-civil arrangements are a matter for the Ministry of Defence.