HC Deb 19 September 2002 vol 390 cc204-5W
Ms Shipley

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the progress the Government have made under the Ospar Convention to reduce nuclear discharges from Sellafield into the Irish Sea. [66106]

Margaret Beckett

I have been asked to reply.

The UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001–20 will be published very shortly. This will show how the UK will implement the OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy. The aim of that Strategy is to ensure progressive reduction of concentrations of radioactive substances in the marine environment so that by 2020 they are close to zero to historic levels.

Radioactive discharges from Sellafield have decreased dramatically over the past 25 years, to around I per cent. of their peak levels in the 1970s. The Strategy will show that further substantial reductions will be made in the period to 2020. The Environment Agency has carried out a full review of discharge authorisations at Sellafield and are expected to announce their draft decision soon. It will then be for me as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Health to decide whether we wish to exercise our statutory powers before any changes are put into effect. The Secretary of State for Health and I expect to announce shortly whether we wish to exercise our statutory powers in relation to the Agency's proposed decision on discharges of technetium-99 from Sellafield.

Mr. Davidson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated clean up costs are for each(a) current and (b) past nuclear power station. [73119]

Mr. Wilson

The estimated cost of decommissioning depends on the strategy adopted by the operator and agreed with the relevant nuclear regulators. BNFL and British Energy publish annual accounts that include information on their respective nuclear provisions, including provisions for decommissioning and waste management, and the basis of their approach to decommissioning.

Mr. Davidson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what limit is set on the financial liability of nuclear operators for damage arising from a nuclear accident; and if she will make a statement. [72989]

Mr. Wilson

With regard to liability of the UK nuclear industry in the event of a nuclear accident, the UK is a Contracting party to the Paris and Brussels Conventions on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy. One of the underlying principles of the Paris Convention is that all liability arising from a nuclear accident is channelled to the operator of the nuclear installation on a no fault basis. Present UK legislation requires operators to cover their liability by insurance, (the Nuclear Installations Act 1965) and operator's liability is currently limited to a maximum £140 million per accident.

Liability amounts are reviewed by the UK along with our international partners and the Paris and Brussels Conventions are currently in the process of revision with a view to substantially increase the operator's liability to £430 million per accident.