asked the Minister for Energy if his Department are informed of the passage of ships, carrying nuclear waste for reprocessing at Sellafield, through the Irish Sea; and if so, the approximate number of shipping movements which take place annually.
Written Answers. - Transport of Nuclear Waste.
106.
The NEB are informed, in appropriate circumstances, of ships carrying radioactive materials for Sellafield which wish to enter the port of Dublin. No arrangements exist under which we are notified of other shipments intended for Sellafield. However, discussions are continuing, in the context of the UK-Ireland Contact Group, on the subject of an arrangement under which such information would be made available to us in respect of ships passing through the Irish Sea.
For some 25 years the safety standards for the national and international transport of all radioactive materials by all modes of transport have been embodied in regulations recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency of which Ireland and the United Kingdom are members.
In the case of marine transport the regulatory authority is the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Ireland and the UK like most other maritime nations, have implemented in their domestic legislation the IMO's dangerous goods code which in the case of radioactive cargoes fully reflects the IAEA transport regulations.