Written Answers. - Nuclear Plants.
Eric J. Byrne
Ceist:
15
Mr. E. Byrne
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
the representations, if any, made by the Government to the UK authorities following the revelations of potentially hazardous incidents at Nuclear Electric plants at Wylfa and Dungeness; whether the Government has received any assurances that safety procedures are being reviewed in the light of these incidents.
[13520/95]
Dermot Ahern
Ceist:
19
Mr. D. Ahern
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
when his Department was first informed of the incident at the Wylfa nuclear plant in Anglesea, Wales; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13691/95]
John O'Donoghue
Ceist:
30
Mr. O'Donoghue
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
the representations, if any, made by his Department, since the formation of this Government to the British authorities in respect of the concern of the Irish people relating to operations at Sellafield and other nuclear plants on the British west coast; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11696/95]
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:
80
Mr. Sargent
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
the plans, if any, he has to meet his British Government counterpart to impress on him the Irish people's overwhelming view that nuclear installations in Britain need decommissioning, starting with the Wylfa plant and the next oldest Magnox reactors.
[14717/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 19, 30 and 80 together.
There is a bilateral arrangement in place between my Department and the UK Department of the Environment under which my Department is notified of incidents in the UK nuclear industry that involve a release of radioactivity into the environment.
My Department was notified by the UK Department of the Environment on 2 August 1993 that it had been informed that an incident had occurred at the Wylfa power station earlier that day which involved a release of the radioactive gas, Sulphur 35, through an approved discharge route. The incident was rated 1 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), i.e. an anomaly. Such Level 1 anomalies may be due to human error, equipment failure or procedural inadequacies and are deemed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to have no off-site safety significance. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) advised my Department at the time that the incident, as reported, did not have any safety significance for Ireland.
On 9 August 1993 the UK authorities indicated to my Department that the release of Sulphur 35 on 2 August was as a consequence of a separate incident which took place on 31 July; that the cause of the incident on 31 July was that part of a grab used for locating and connecting the charge chute on to a fuel channel had become detached; that the reactor had been shut down and depressurised for recovery of the missing component; that during the initial depressurisation involved in this recovery operation, the short term weekly authorisation for Sulphur 35 was exceeded; and that the longer-term annual limit was not breached. The UK authorities stated that the release posed no threat to the workers or the public in Anglesey.
On 26 August 1993 the UK Authorities informed my Department that the incident had been reclassified to level 2 as an incident with no significant environmental impact, but which involved some internal plant failure.
On 14 October 1993 the UK authorities informed my Department that investigations into the cause of the incident were continuing but that the nuclear installations inspectorate was satisfied that the necessary actions to ensure the continued safe operation of the reactor had been carried out.
My Department was satisfied, on the basis of the information available to it, and on the advice of the RPII, that the release of Sulphur 35 which resulted from the incident had no safety significance for Ireland. No new information emerged during the recent court case involving nuclear electric to change that opinion.
In all of the correspondence received by my Department from the UK authorities in 1993 about the Wylfa incident, no reference was made to the fact that the reactor had been allowed to continue operating for nine hours after a refuelling machine component had been lost inside it. This was the central failure in safety procedures for which Nuclear Electric was fined in the recent court case. My Department could not, therefore, have appreciated the potential seriousness of the incident on the basis of the information made available to it in 1993.
As I informed this House on 20 September last in an Adjournment, following the court case I immediately wrote in the strongest terms to the UK Minister for Industry and Energy and the Secretary of State for the Environment expressing my grave concern at the potential seriousness of the incident and the failure of Nuclear Electric to react promptly to the possibility of a serious accident. I expressed the view that this incident and the more recent one at Dungeness only served to increase the deep concerns of the Government and the Irish public about the adequacy of safety in the nuclear industry and of the nuclear operators' ability to manage such a hazardous industry in which safety ought to be of paramount importance. I also requested that nuclear operators be required to take the necessary proper steps to make a repetition of incidents, such as happened at Wylfa, impossible.
With regard to the shutdown of the Magnox reactor at Dungeness in Kent on 6 September this year, my Department has sought a full report on this incident from the UK authorities. I am advised that Nuclear Electric will be required to produce a safety case to the independent regulator, the nuclear installations inspectorate of the Health and Safety Authority, before the reactor can be re-opened.
In relation to Magnox reactors on the west coast of Britain, especially those at Wylfa and Sellafield, I asked the UK Government to phase out all reactors in the interests of nuclear safety and radiation protection and I asked for clear proposals in this regard. I also expressed to the UK Minister for Industry and Energy my strong view that the nuclear operators' closure and decommissioning strategies should be reviewed immediately by the nuclear installations inspectorate and that any decisions on the de-fueling and shutdown of individual stations, particularly Sellafield and Wylfa should be taken without delay.
The Minister for Industry and Energy has now replied to me and has emphasised that the nuclear installations inspectorate is satisfied that no one was exposed to actual danger due to the incident at Wylfa, a point also made by the trial judge in his summing up in the case. The Minister has informed me that since the incident, the component which failed has been re-designed to make it far more secure, and similar types of component have been re-checked. The Minister further informed me that safety procedures at Wylfa power station have been revised and reinforced and the nuclear installations inspectorate has stated that it is satisfied that Nuclear Electric has taken appropriate measures to ensure that similar failures cannot occur at Wylfa or at Nuclear Electric's other nuclear power stations.
In his reply, the Minister has said that he does not accept that levels of safety at Magnox power stations are inadequate and that these stations should be shut down. He points out that safety is the highest priority and that all UK nuclear power stations, including Magnox stations, are subject to the stringent licensing regime operated by the independent regulator, the nuclear installations inspectorate. The Minister has said that he is satisfied that, subject to Magnox stations continuing to give satisfactory results to the NII in routine tests and inspections and in periodic safety reviews, they should continue to operate.
I have asked the RPII for its assessment of the UK Minister's response and will await their advice before considering the matter further. In the meantime, senior officials of my Department and the RPII will meet UK officials next week and will reiterate our grave concerns about safety aspects of the UK nuclear industry and of the Magnox stations in particular.
