Vol. 405 No. 8
8 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Energy if he will make a statement on the claim by the Nuclear Energy Board that hospitals are storing radioactive generators as they have nowhere to dispose of them as a result of the lack of a Government policy in relation to nuclear waste management.
The storage and disposal of all radioactive waste is subject to control by licence under the Nuclear Energy (General Control of Fissile Fuels, Radioactive Substances and Irradiating Apparatus) Order 1977, SI No. 166 of 1977.
The radioactive generators to which the Deputy refers are used in hospitals in the diagnosis of a wide range of health conditions and provide physicians with important information in relation to the treatment of patients. The cores are kept in the hospitals after use in safe and secure storage and their activity drops to very low levels after six months.
Whilst the Nuclear Energy Board are satisfied that the cores are being safely stored it is not considered to be ideal for each hospital to store its own waste in the long term.
Accordingly, the NEB are carrying out a survey of the quantities being held in hospitals to quantify the amount currently in storage. This information will be of value in my consideration of the question of the establishment of a waste storage facility in Ireland in which I will be facilitated by a visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency's waste disposal advisory service to Ireland in July of this year.
Would the Minister not agree that this has been a long festering problem? The reason hospitals, universities and colleges are storing low level radioactive generators on site is because there is no nuclear waste disposal policy in this country. The absence of such a policy is not only causing frustration to many hospitals and academic institutions but also badly compromising this country in our relations with other countries regarding nuclear installations. While we are dependent——
The Chair has appealed for brevity. I would like to make some worthwhile progress on questions.
Would the Minister not agree that the absence of a nuclear waste disposal policy——
I think the Deputy has made his point.
——is badly compromising our stance with regard to installations like Sellafield and our stance with Britain on the nuclear issue?
It is not so much that there is an absence of a policy but the absence of a radioactive waste disposal site in this country, which has been well documented and is referred to in the Nuclear Energy Board reports. That board carried out a survey of radioactive waste disposal in Ireland and issued a report in December 1988. I have indicated to this House on more than one occasion, as I did again yesterday during the discussion on the Radiological Protection Bill, that International Atomic Energy Agency experts are coming here to carry out a survey and assist the Department in their work in seeking to identify a suitable site and make the necessary arrangements. The invitation to the International Atomic Energy Agency was made last year but they were not able to come here instantly; we had to wait our turn. As I told the House yesterday, those people are coming in July.
As regards a policy for the disposal of radioactive waste, we should make it clear that what we are talking about here are very low levels. The storage on site arrangement has been certified as safe by Nuclear Energy Board inspectors, but this is not the ideal way to store the waste. By way of implementing a policy in this matter I am anxious to establish a site where all these matters can be stored in the one location under the most optimum conditions. High level radiation is imported here under a licence and has to be re-exported to the supplier. Therefore that is not stored here. What we are talking about is radioactive waste with very low levels of radiation which is of no danger. It is important we do not create scares. The Deputy said yesterday he has some experience in this area. We are not anxious to alarm people. The Nuclear Energy Board are satisfied with the storage of this low level waste at present. We are anxious to establish a national storage site for it, but there is no need for anybody to be alarmed.
Is it not true——
A brief question, please. Let us strive to make some really worthwhile progress on questions today.
Would the Minister not agree that he is taking a very simplistic attitude to this problem? Industry in this country is totally frustrated by the absence of a policy regarding chemical waste, toxic waste and nuclear waste. We are dependent on Britain to take some of our nuclear waste and as a result of that dependency we are compromised in our attitude towards installations like Sellafield.
The Deputy is widening the scope of the question.
When will the Minister publish a national policy on waste management and disposal, toxic, chemical and nuclear?
I am dealing with radioactive waste as is my responsibility. I informed the House yesterday and now again today what I propose in this area.
