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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cubic metres of low-grade nuclear waste from decommissioned power stations have recently been identified by the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee. [109621] Mr. Meacher: The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's (RWMAC's) Advice to Ministers on the Management of Low Activity Solid Radioactive Wastes Within the United Kingdom was published in March 2003. What the Committee pointed out is that as nuclear site decommissioning plans, including those on which nuclear power stations have operated, progress, and radioactive contamination is identified and characterised, substantial volumes of building rubble and soil with levels of contamination at the bottom of the low level waste activity range--of the order of that of the very low level wastes produced by small users--are being identified. Initial estimates of volumes are set out in Annex 4 of the RWMAC report and amount in total to more than 3,300,000 cubic metres, of which more than 3,000,000 cubic metres is attributed to the Sellafield site. The Committee believe that a substantial proportion of this very low activity waste from nuclear site decommissioning and clean-up activities has not been included in past inventories, although they acknowledge that, at this stage, estimates are very approximate.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

109621; 404 c381W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Decommissioning Radioactive waste Nuclear power Nuclear power stations Waste management Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk