Vol. 432 No. 2
100 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will give details of the Irish proposal to the Paris Commission regarding additional radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea from THORP, to be debated at the meeting in Berlin from 14-19 June 1993; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Irish delegation to the Paris Commission meeting next week will express the Government's concern that the commissioning of the THORP plant at Sellafield will cause additional radioactive discharges from Sellafield into the Irish Sea. In that respect, a proposal will be tabled that a ceiling be placed on the total level of radioactive discharges into the maritime area based on the mean levels prevailing over the previous three years.
101 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the up to date position in relation to the proposed development by British Nuclear Fuels of Sellafield's new THORP Plant and the planned transportation of plutonium through the Irish Sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The new THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield cannot go ahead until revised authorisations are given by the UK authorities for the discharge of liquid and gaseous emissions from Sellafield. No final decision has yet been taken on whether or not it will proceed. Following a public consultation process undertaken by the UK Inspector of Pollution (HMIP), some 80,000 submissions were received by HMIP and a report has recently been submitted to the Secretary of State for the Environment for his consideration. The Secretary of State will now decide if a hearing is to be granted on the THORP issue to interested parties or whether to issue discharge authorisations.
The transportation of plutonium through the Irish Sea will only be a possibility if the THORP plant is given the go-ahead. Other transport routes by land or by air will also be possible. In this connection, I have already expressed the Government's concerns about such shipments.
