§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the European Council Resolution 2002/C119/05 on the establishment of national systems for surveillance and control of the presence of radioactive materials in the recycling of metallic materials in member states, in respect of its application to the United Kingdom. [73555]
§ Mr. MeacherMost of the Resolution's proposals are already covered by existing UK legislation, including the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (as amended) and the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999. Many of the measures proposed in the Resolution are mirrored in the draft Euratom High Activity Sealed Sources Directive, which is currently being negotiated.
The UK INTERPOL Environmental Crime (Radioactive Substances) Sub-Group (UKIECG), which is chaired by the Environment Agency, addresses the issue of illicit trafficking of "orphan" radioactive sources. The Environment Agency is also working closely with the metals recycling industry and with regulators in other countries on the issues covered by the Resolution.
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§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much(a) low level, (b) intermediate level and (c) high level radioactive material was in storage in each year from 1973 to date. [73947]
§ Mr. MeacherThe information requested requires the interrogation of several past UK Radioactive Waste Inventories and I will write to the hon. Member with the details in due course.