HC Deb 14 February 2002 vol 380 cc531-2W
Mr. Carmichael

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of cracks in the B30 nuclear waste storage facility at Sellafield. [36000]

Mr. Wilson

Inspectors from HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate inspected the B30 plant in 2001. As a result of this inspection, and a subsequent detailed review by BNFL's own experts, BNFL are taking action to institute a programme of remedial work and to enhanced its contingency plans for this plant.

B30 is one of the older plants at Sellafield that contain the legacy wastes referred to in the statement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to the House on 28 November 2001 on Government proposals to set up a Liabilities Management Agency. These proposals are intended to help to systematically address the UK's historical legacy of radioactive waste, including the decommissioning of such plant as B30. In this particular case HSE is pressing BNFL to establish an early decommissioning programme.