asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he is aware of the planning permission granted for a £600 million expansion programme at Windscale in North West England for the reprocessing of nuclear waste from atomic power stations all over the world; if he is concerned about the dangers of seepage from ships carrying nuclear waste in the Irish sea and the alleged piping of radioactive waste from Windscale in the Irish sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nuclear Waste Hazard.
11.
I am aware of proposals by British Nuclear Fuels Limited to invest some £600 million in an expansion programme at their nuclear fuel reprocessing complex at Windscale, North West England for which I understand planning permission has not, in fact, yet been granted.
I am advised that irradiated fuel— that is, spent fuel, being transported for reprocessing, is contained in thick steel flasks. These flasks are designed according to international regulations to be leak tight and to withstand any credible accident so the risk of seepage in a marine accident is extremely unlikely.
I am also advised that the increase in reprocessing capacity should not lead to a proportionate increase in release of radioactivity to the environment. All releases of radioactivity to the environment in the United Kingdom are subject to strict regulation under United Kingdom law which conforms to recommendations of the International Commission for Radiation Protection and directives of the EEC for the protection of members of the public from the dangers of radiation. Authorised release limits are fixed for the site overall, not for the individual sections of the plant and I am further advised that there are no indications that the release limits for the Windscale reprocessing complex will be increased when British Nuclear Fuels Limited expansion proposals are being considered by the United Kingdom licensing authorities.
Highly radioactive waste or solid low active waste are not discharged into the Irish sea from the Windscale plant. Liquid effluents of very low activity are produced in the final stage of fuel reprocessing. These effluents are collected in tanks for monitoring before discharge into the Irish sea. The resulting radiation levels in the Irish sea are constantly monitored by the United Kingdom authorities and by the Irish National Radiation Monitoring Service. In addition, the Nuclear Energy Board which was recently set up to advise my Department on nuclear energy matters, has established close liaison with British Nuclear Fuels Limited and the relevant regulatory agencies to ensure that we are kept fully informed both of the current situation and on any future plans particularly such as Windscale that might affect radiation levels in the Irish sea.
I am assured by the Nuclear Energy Board that the dose rate arising from current radioactivity levels in the Irish sea is well within the safe limits recommended by the International Commission for Radiation Protection and that it does not represent a hazard to the public in this country.
Could the Minister state if he or his Department have had discussions with the British authorities on this matter in order to be satisfied as to the safeguards that the British propose?
The safeguards the British have are international safeguards and would be laid down under the EEC, under Euratom or under the International Commission for Radiation Protection. There have been no direct discussions with my Department, but the chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Board has been in England for discussions with British Nuclear Fuels Limited on this matter.
I take it the Minister appreciates the anxiety of people living, for example, in my constituency, which is not all that far away from Windscale. Do I take it from his reply that he feels there is no need to worry about this matter?
I am very grateful to the Deputy for the question and for the way he has put his supplementary now. I give him an assurance in this regard that we are satisfied. I would say also that one of the things that has been concerning me for some length of time is the necessity for some form of education of public opinion on the safe levels of radiation discharge and on all matters relating to nuclear energy. I have had discussions with the chief executive officer and the relevant officers in my Department on this matter. I am meeting the Nuclear Energy Board some time within the next week—not for this reason, it was not set up for this—and I propose to put that point to them also.