Written Answers - British Nuclear Industry.
Eric J. Byrne
Ceist:
26
Mr. E. Byrne
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
the plans, if any, the Government has to institute legal proceedings against the operators of Sellafield following the recent court decision in the United Kingdom to throw out a case against Greenpeace demonstrators in view of the fact that it had not been conclusively proven that British Nuclear Fuel Limited's activities at Sellafield were lawful; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2010/96]
I presume the Deputy is referring to a recent newspaper report concerning a British magistrate's remark in a court case involving Greenpeace activists who allegedly trespassed on the BNFL site at Sellafield.
I have obtained a transcript of the court proceedings and I am having it examined with a view to establishing what significance, if any, the outcome of the case might have in the context of Government policy on Sellafield.
Ivor Callely
Ceist:
27
Mr. Callely
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
the progress and recent developments in the British Nuclear Industry; the likely development expected over coming months; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[1243/96]
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:
47
Mr. Sargent
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
if reports in the Cork Examiner that the Government failed in mid-December 1995 to make a formal protest at the oral hearing into the plan by Nirex to construct a nuclear waste storage cavern under the Irish Sea were correct in whole or in part; and the steps, if any, he has taken to ensure such a serious oversight does not reoccur.
[2061/96]
Dermot Ahern
Ceist:
51
Mr. D. Ahern
asked the
Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications
his views on the proposed underground dump for nuclear materials at the Sellafield/Thorp Complex in England; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[1640/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 47 and 51 together.
During 1995 the developments of note in the British nuclear industry related to plans for a rock characterisation facility or "rock laboratory" near Sellafield; the UK Government's proposals on privatisation and a decision not to proceed with the building of two new nuclear plants. I will deal in turn with each of these developments and the Government's views and concerns in each respect.
The House will be aware that earlier this month contrary to reports in theCork Examiner, I participated in a public inquiry in Cumbria to object to preliminary plans by UK NIREX Ltd. to build a deep underground radioactive waste dump near Sellafield, virtually at the edge of the Irish Sea. UK NIREX Ltd. had applied for planning permission to Cumbria County Council to build a rock laboratory to investigate the geology and hydrogeology of the area.
My Department expressed grave concerns about that plan to Cumbria County Council. The council refused planning permission to NIREX in December 1994. However, NIREX appealed the decision to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment and he subsequently decided to hold a public inquiry.
While NIREX assert that this rock laboratory is purely for research, I see it as a first step, and indeed a significant financial pre-commitment, to an eventual underground structure at Sellafield for the permanent storage of domestic and foreign radioactive waste. My personal participation in the inquiry, along with a team of legal and technical experts, is evidence of the Government's strong opposition to any extension to existing facilities around the Sellafield complex and the serious concern at the possibility that such a development would have the potential to contaminate the marine environment.
I have arranged for copies of my full oral submission to the inquiry to be placed in the Dáil Library. I have written personally to the EU Commissioner responsible for nuclear safety and the environment on the matter and copies of my submission have also been sent formally to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister for Trade and Industry.
On completion of the public inquiry in February 1996, the Inspector will begin to draw up a report and make recommendations to the UK Secretary of State who will ultimately decide on the planning application for the rock laboratory. I understand that the inspector's report will be ready towards the end of the year. I want to assure the House that the Government will spare no effort to ensure that no new storage or disposal site for nuclear waste materials is built at Sellafield.
Of further concern during 1995 was the UK's plans for privatisation of its nuclear power stations. The two nuclear generating companies, Nuclear Electric and Scottish Nuclear, are being merged and privatised. However, magnox stations, such as those at Sellafield and Wylfa, will remain in public ownership under a new Government-owned company which will ultimately be integrated with BNFL. I believe this is being done, not for safety reasons, but for financial reasons due to the high cost of decommissioning these reactors.
I continue to have very serious concerns about the age, safety and reliability of these magnox reactors, and I have made my views known to the UK Minister for Trade and Energy and the Secretary of State for the Environment. I have sought the early closure and dismantling of these reactors and I have asked the UK authorities to ensure that nuclear operators take the necessary steps to prevent possible future incidents, like the one in Wylfa in 1993. These ageing monsters have literally passed their `best sell by date'.
The UK White Paper on Privatisation emphasised that there is no case for State intervention or public funds for the construction of new nuclear plants. I welcome therefore the recent decision by Nuclear Electric to scrap the planned construction of new nuclear plants, one at Sizewell in Sussex and the other at Hinkley Point, near the Irish Sea.
I hope that this decision signifies a shift away from the nuclear option towards the use of safer fuels for power generation in Britain. The sale of the British nuclear industry is due to take place before the summer once the
Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has completed its regulatory duties in the relicensing of nuclear plants.
