Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Thursday, 19 December 2013, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 January 2014. It was answered by Michael Fallon (Conservative) on Monday, 6 January 2014 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Fracking

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the volumes of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) which may be extracted from the earth in future fracking operations in the UK; what proposals he plans to make for the conditioning, treatment, packaging and long-term management of such radioactive wastes; what information his Department holds on how the US has handled such NORM waste; and what assessment he has made of how the UK can learn from the US experience.

Answer: The potential volumes of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) will depend on the scale of production, which cannot be estimated until there is exploratory drilling and testing. In the US disposal of NORM is regulated state by state and in some includes reinjection of waste waters underground, a practice that is not permitted in the UK. In the UK, we have established regulatory processes for disposal of NORM and, as with mining or mineral processing, the relevant environmental regulator is responsible for assessing the risk, if any, from NORM at any particular site and licensing or permitting activities appropriately. Water UK, who represent the water industry and the UK Onshore Operators Group, have recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to help minimise the impact of onshore oil and gas development in the UK on the country's water resources, this includes the expected volumes, composition of waste water and preferred disposal routes. UK Water Industry Research are modelling the demand for waste water services to advise the water industry.

Secondary information