Vol. 485 No. 2
12 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to the fact that ageing British magnox nuclear reactors are currently passed their planned existence and constitute a considerable additional risk of nuclear accident; if she will highlight the need to decommission them as a priority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22780/97]
I refer the Deputy to my answer to Question No. 34 of 12 November 1997.
The oldest type of reactors in the UK are magnox reactors and are located mainly on the west coast of Britain. Of the 11 magnox power stations throughout the UK three have now been closed. Calder Hall, now nearly 40 years old, houses the four ageing magnox reactors on the Sellafield site. Originally built in 1956, these reactors have exceeded their expected design life by 20 years.
I recently met with the UK Minister for the Environment, Mr. Michael Meacher, MP, where I raised the Government's long-standing concerns about magnox reactors and stressed the Government's desire for the closure and early decommissioning of these facilities in the interest of nuclear safety and radiation protection.
As Minister responsible for nuclear safety policy, Mr. John Battle, MP, Minister of State for Science, Energy and Industry, recently responded to the points I raised with Minister Meacher. In summary, he maintains that the UK system of nuclear regulation is internationally recognised as a rigorous system for ensuring a high level of safety. In addition, magnox stations are subject to periodic long-term safety reviews by the UK's Health and Safety Executive, HSE, which is satisfied that UK's eight operating magnox stations can continue to operate safely. While the response of the UK Government could perhaps be anticipated given previous UK policies in this area, I am considering with the advice of the RPII what action I should take to reinforce our concerns about the delay in decommissioning these reactors.
