Vol. 564 No. 1
138 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reports he has received from the British authorities regarding their efforts to decommission and make safe pile 1 of the original Sellafield plant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8765/03]
The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has been advised by the UK regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, that progress in the dismantling of this structure has been slower than envisaged. Originally the operator appointed a commercial enterprise to plan, oversee and execute the dismantling work on this pile. However the contract foundered when, at a late stage, the proposed engineering solution was deemed unacceptable. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority then took back overall control of the project and is now working with a consortium of contractors. The current situation is that UKAEA and the consortium are re-considering the options for decommissioning pile 1. They are due to present their latest position and options to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate shortly.
Britain is establishing a new Government agency, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, NDA, which will be responsible for managing its nuclear waste legacy. The NDA will be charged with funding decommissioning projects and ensuring that this work proceeds. While the partial continued existence of the pile is clearly undesirable, it is not believed to constitute a serious hazard in terms of its potential for giving rise to an incident with off-site consequences.
