Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 July 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 July 2007. It was answered by Bob Ainsworth (Labour) on Monday, 3 September 2007 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Nuclear Weapons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines his Department follows on the proximity of storage of nuclear weapons to (a) residential properties and (b) other nuclear weapons.

Answer: UK nuclear weapons, in common with all MOD conventional weapons, are stored according to their conventional explosives content in explosives facilities which are assessed and licensed in accordance with the requirements of the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (MSER) 2005. The MOD applies these regulations through Joint Services Publication 482—MOD Explosives Regulations. JSP 482 stipulates specific safety separation distances to be maintained between explosives and residential properties and public roads and between adjacent explosives storage and processing facilities.Nuclear warheads are stored safely in accordance with arrangements prescribed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. Specific regulations are covered by the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999.

Secondary information