§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantities of radioactive water(a) have been removed and (b) remain to be moved from Sellafield building B30 as part of the post-operational clean-out (POCO) process; to where this water has been discharged; and whether the POCO activities at B30 have been reported as part of the UK submissions to the OSPAR Ministerial in Bremen in June. [124826]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 10 July 2003]: About 2,000 cubic metres of water a day are currently flushed through the B30 ponds. The water is treated at the SIXEP plant in Sellafield to remove particulate and principally radioactive caesium and strontium. The resulting low-level radioactive liquid waste is discharged to sea. These discharges were included in the Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001–2020, published in July 2002, which was the UK's national report to OSPAR.