Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 6 May 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 May 2003. It was answered by Michael Meacher (Labour) on Monday, 19 May 2003 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her Answer of 29th April, 404 c308W, on nuclear waste, what contingency plans are in place to deal with future arisings of low level wastes that cannot be accommodated at Drigg.

Answer: Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 308W, on nuclear waste, what contingency plans are in place to deal with future arisings of low level wastes that cannot be accommodated at Drigg. [112456] Mr. Meacher: The 2001 UK Radioactive Waste Inventory gives the time profile for generation of the 1,490,000m3 of low level waste referred to in my answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 308W. This shows arisings of that waste during the period to 2120 with the majority being produced after 2070. For this reason the currently estimated life of the existing Drigg disposal facility is of the order of 50 years. The capacity of the site and its forecast life will be reviewed by the Environment Agency in light of safety cases provided by the site's operators, British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). At some future point either extension of Drigg or the identification of another disposal site will be necessary. Further consideration can begin to be given to this once the outcome of the Environment Agency's review of the safety cases is known, around mid-2004. The outcome will provide vital information for consideration of disposal capacity, as well as providing a basis for the Agency's review of the Drigg disposal authorisation.

Secondary information