§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the disposal of(a) high level, (b) intermediate level and (c) liquid form waste. [66098]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
There is currently no long-term management policy for either high level or intermediate level radioactive waste. Both high and intermediate level wastes are currently stored safely on licensed sites and are subject to strict regulatory control by the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate. Any discharges relating to the storage of waste are similarly regulated by the Environment Agency. Wastes in liquid form may be high, intermediate or low level. Low level liquid wastes are discharged from a number of sites throughout the country under authorisations granted by the Environment Agency under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.
The Department and the devolved Administrations are working towards finding suitable management solutions for long-lived radioactive waste which have full public 678W support. We recently held a public consultation on the matter, and will be announcing both the results and the next stages of the policy making process very shortly.