John Gormley
Ceist:113 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the inquiries, if any, she has made to the British Government in relation to its plans to reprocess imported nuclear waste at the Dounreay facility in Scotland. [10140/98]
Written Answers - Dounreay Reprocessing Plant.
The recent transfer of a shipment of nuclear material containing approximately 4kg of enriched uranium and about 1kg of spent nuclear fuel raises complex issues about the optimum approach by the international community to the problem of the disposal of nuclear material located in the former Soviet Union. The general consensus in the western world is that it is desirable that storage of such material should be arranged at secure locations which are not vulnerable to terrorist threats or other forms of civil conflict or disturbances. Taking a global view of the problem of the disposal of spent fuel and the stockpile of excess plutonium, I believe that it is reasonable to argue that there are positive benefits in removing this consignment from Tbilisi.
However, I do have some misgivings about the intention to store and reprocess material at Dounreay. I have been concerned for some time about the general suitability of Dounreay as a result of waste management practices at the site and the Government's general opposition to reprocessing because of the associated proliferation risks. An added source of concern is the recent resignation of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, UKAEA, Chief Constable because of alleged shortcomings in the security arrangements at the Dounreay site.
In the circumstances, I have written to Mr. Michael Meacher, MP, UK Minister for the Environment, expressing my concern about the decision to reprocess some of the material and seeking clarification of the steps which will be taken to address the suitability of Dounreay from a safety and security viewpoint.