Vol. 424 No. 9
55 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Energy the locations and quantities of radioactive materials and waste that are known to be in storage; if he has satisfied himself with present arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Radioactive material, in both sealed and unsealed form, is imported for use in industrial, medical and laboratory applications under licence from the Radiological Protection Institute. At present, all imported sealed radioactive sources must be returned to the original supplier at the end of their useful lives — this is a precondition imposed by the Board prior to the issue of a licence.
There are some 2,300 Gigabecquerels of low-level waste in storage in the form of disused sealed sources in hospitals, laboratories and in certain industries. These were mainly imported before the introduction of regulatory controls in this country. In the case of radioactive substances in unsealed form the licensee is obliged to store waste material on his premises until the radioactive content has decayed to levels at which disposal as ordinary domestic waste is permitted.
Inspections of storage of radioactive substances are carried out by the Institute. Although there is at present no central radioactive waste storage facility in Ireland, I am satisfied that the present arrangements in place ensure that all sources of radioactivity are currently stored in a manner which does not pose a hazard to people or property.
