§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to request the NRPB to publish detailed advice to nuclear regulators and operators on the provisions of the Radioactive Substances (Basic Safety Standards) Directive in respect of the calculation of population doses from practices giving rise to radiation exposure. [133592]
§ Mr. MeacherAs a consequence of the Radioactive Substances (Basic Safety Standards) (England and Wales) Direction 2000 and the equivalent Direction made in Scotland, the regulators—the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Environment and Heritage Service within the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment—in collaboration with the NRPB, are already developing guidance on the assessment of public doses for the purpose of authorising discharges of radioactive waste to the environment. This document will not only provide guidance to inspectors on the assessment of public doses and provide to operators guidance on the preparation of radiological assessments in support of authorisation applications, it will also provide information to the public on the regulators' methods of conducting public dose assessments. A public consultation exercise on the guidance commenced on 3 October. The guidance is expected to be published in Spring 2001.