Written question asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 20 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 September 2004. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 September 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what progress BNFL has made in removing sludges from B30 Sellafield in order to comply with the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate's specification 325 issued in 2000; and what assessment has been made of whether the deadline of removing and treating 90 per cent. of the sludges will be met by August 2010.

Answer: Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress BNFL has made in removing sludges from B30 Sellafield in order to comply with the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate's specification 325 issued in 2000; and what assessment has been made of whether the deadline of removing and treating 90 per cent. of the sludges will be met by August 2010. [186119] Mr. Timms: BNFL are developing plans to meet the specification requirement of 90 per cent. of sludge removal by August 2010. Sludge removal requires modification to the plant at B30 and the building of a new structure to house and treat the sludge. Some preliminary refurbishment work has started. This and other projects form the basis for carrying out sludge removal and are being incorporated into both the short and long term plans for the site. HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate will continue to monitor these plans so that the August 2010 date will be met.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 424 c1047W; 186119
Session: 2003-04
Subjects: British Nuclear Fuels Inspections Radioactive waste Nuclear power stations Standards Waste disposal Sellafield
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk