Written Answers. - Transportation of Hazardous Waste.
Eric J. Byrne
Ceist:
57
Mr. E. Byrne
asked the
Minister for the Marine
the proposals, if any, he has to curtail the trans-shipment of nuclear materials and other hazardous waste through Irish waters; the efforts, if any, being made in international fore by the Irish Government in this regard in view of concerns at deficient IMO procedures and regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14970/95]
I fully share the Deputy's concerns in this matter. The Deputy will be aware of the Government's strong opposition to the reprocessing facility at Sellafield. Our concerns about the shipment of spent nuclear fuel and plutonium through the Irish Sea are fundamental ones. The implications of an accident or collision need no spelling out by me to this House.
At present such shipments are governed by the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation Code on the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuels known as the INF Code. Before direct shipments can begin these requirements must be met and registered as such with the United Kingdom's Marine Safety Agency. However, in my view, the requirements themselves are deficient and I wish to inform the Deputy and the House of the steps which I am undertaking to have them changed.
The INF Code, drawn up jointly by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requires that the ships used be of a special type and construction, be in full compliance with the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, 1974, as amended, and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code of that Convention and meet strict requirements as regards damage stability, fire protection, temperature control of cargo spaces, radiological protection equipment and management, training and shipboard emergency plans etc. Each ship must hold a document from its Flag Administration indicating full compliance with all requirements. The IMO adopted the code at its 18th Assembly in November 1993.
The following deficiencies have been identified in the Code relating to the handling of the most hazardous of all dangerous cargoes transported by sea:
— no route planning or notification/consultation with coastal and island states en route on the movement of vessels carrying nuclear cargoes;
— no restriction or exclusion of certain routes;
— no emergency response preparedness and reaction to emergencies should they arise along the route;
— lack of data on the actual cargoes being carried;
— lack of hazard assessment of nuclear cargoes or proper evaluation of the flasks used in transport;
— lack of salvage equipment capable of retrieving either ship or nuclear cargo in the event of an accident occurring, particularly if the ship were to sink in deep water;
— no means of locating nuclear cargoes which might be lost from the ship (or the ship itself) in the event of an accident; and
— no liability regime for compensatory damages in the event of an incident involving nuclear cargoes or leakage therefrom.
These issues are complementary to the code and I am giving them my full attention at present.
I am actively seeking to have some if not all of these deficiencies remedied at as early a date as possible and already my Department has instituted steps to have them looked at through the mechanism of IMO which is the international body responsible for such matters. There is a meeting of IMO next month which I propose to attend personally to advance the matter and I hope to meet IMO's Secretary-General in advance of the meeting to the same end.
I am also seeking provisions for improved reporting arrangements for vessels transiting the territorial waters of EU member states generally and in particular I am seeking amendments of the HAZMAT Directive which governs the movement by ship of hazardous materials in European waters. As the Deputy knows, it is Government policy, not to admit entry to an Irish port of any vessel carrying nuclear materials and in line with that policy I decided earlier this year to refuse entry to Dublin port of a vessel carrying nuclear materials.
