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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 1 Jul 1998

Vol. 493 No. 4

Written Answers. - Nuclear Waste.

Pat Rabbitte

Question:

31 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the decision of the German Government to halt all shipments of nuclear waste, including those going to Sellafield, following disclosures that nuclear materials leaving Germany were excessively radioactive and that the nuclear industry had been aware of this since the 1980s; if, in view of this, he will seek international support for a ban on the passage of nuclear materials through the Irish Sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16074/98]

I am aware of the recent action by the German Government in relation to shipments of nuclear waste and I share the concern that prompted their decision. From an Irish point of view, I am concerned about the traffic in vessels carrying nuclear material around our coasts and in particular about the possible dangers to public health and the environment arising from any accident involving ships carrying such material, particularly collisions and sinkings.

Ireland has been campaigning for some time for improvements to the conditions under which nuclear materials are transported around our coasts, and I would like to acknowledge the contribution that Deputy Gilmore made to that process during his time as Minister of State at the Department of the Marine. As he will be aware, however, the question of a ban on the passage of ships carrying nuclear materials is fraught with difficulties, given the right of innocent passage enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS.

Nevertheless, Ireland has been successful in achieving major improvements to the International Maritime Organisation's Code for the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High Level Radioactive Wastes in Flasks on Board Ships, known as the INF Code. The code regulates the construction, equipment and operation of ships engaged in the carriage of INF materials. Such ships must also comply with the IMO's Safety of Life at Sea, SOLAS, Convention and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods, IMDG, Code. The flasks used for the carriage of radioactive materials must comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency's regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials.

Last November I travelled to London to address the 20th Assembly of the IMO on the subject of the INF Code and to press the assembly to agree that the code should be adopted as a mandatory binding code by all IMO member states. As I reported to the House on 10 December last, agreement was reached at the IMO to make the code mandatory and the draft final document has been referred to the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO for adoption. I regard this as a very important step forward in improving the conditions under which nuclear materials are transported by sea, but I want to assure the House that I will be continuing my efforts to bring about further improvements in this area.

Following the meeting of the IMO Assembly, the UK and French Governments indicated a willingness to enter into bilateral agreements concerning the notification of shipments of nuclear waste near our coasts. Discussions are currently under way at official level. I welcome this commitment by the two Governments, which ensures that the carriage near our coasts of materials which require special care can be closely monitored.

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