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Nuclear Industry
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) at what intervals reviews are conducted of the level of nuclear industry liability in respect of a nuclear accident; and when the next review is planned to take place; [71477]
- (2) what measures are used in setting the nuclear industry's level of liability in respect of a nuclear accident; and what account is taken of inflation. [71476]
Mr. Wilson: With regard to liability of the UK nuclear industry in the event of a nuclear accident, the UK is a contracting party to the Paris and Brussels conventions on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy. One of the underlying principles of the Paris convention is that all liability arising from a nuclear accident is channelled to the operator of the nuclear installation on a no fault basis. Present UK legislation requires operators to cover their liability by insurance, (the Nuclear Installations Act 1965) and operator's liability is currently limited to a maximum £140 million per accident.
Liability amounts are reviewed by the UK along with our international partners and were last increased in 1990. The Paris and Brussels conventions are currently in the process of revision with a view to substantially increase the operator's liability to £430 million per accident.
On entry into force, the revised Paris and Brussels conventions will provide for a review of liability amounts every five years.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria are applied in varying the salary of the BNFL chairman. [71512]
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Mr. Wilson: The starting fee of £150,000 per annum for the chairman of BNFL was set in October 1999 for a period of three years. The increase, effective from 1 October 2002—equivalent to just over 3 per cent. per annum—was considered to be an appropriate increase in recognition of the service provided by Mr. Collum since he became chairman. This is close to the average level of increase awarded to BNFL staff in each of those three years.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals her Department has received regarding the extension between refuelling periods for nuclear reactors. [71546]
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations her Department has received regarding the continued operation of BNFL magnox stations. [71532]
Mr. Wilson: BNFL informed the Department of its intention to bring forward the closure dates of the Calder Hall and Chapelcross stations on 22 May 2002.
The Government launched a consultation on energy policy on 14 May with a view to publishing a White Paper around the turn of the year. The role of nuclear is one of the key issues raised in the document. We shall be posting the replies to the consultation on the DTI's website.
Nuclear Waste
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations her Department has received concerning the adequacy of security provision in the event of (a) an accident and (b) a terrorist attack involving the transportation of nuclear waste in (i) an urban and (ii) a rural environment. [69137]
Mr. Wilson: The Department has received a large volume of representations from hon. Members, their constituents and others over safety and security in the civil nuclear industry, including the transport of nuclear material in all environments, in the period since the attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many tonnes of nuclear waste was imported and reprocessed in the UK in each year since 1997; and what the projected amount is in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004. [69037]
Mr. Wilson: The United Kingdom does not allow the import of "nuclear waste". Spent nuclear fuel belonging to overseas owners is imported for reprocessing in the UK. Details of fuel deliveries and the programming of reprocessing fuel owned by individual customers are operational and commercial matters for BNFL and its customers. It can be noted, however, that BNFL published in 1993 a document setting out the economic and commercial justification for THORP. This included details of the amounts of fuel contracted for reprocessing during the baseload period of THORP's operation. From this it can be seen that the total amount of overseas owned fuel to be reprocessed during that period is 4,547 tonnes.
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Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much nuclear waste was (a) generated and (b) reprocessed within the UK in each year since 1997. [69034]
Mr. Wilson:
Radioactive waste is defined as
"any material which contains or is contaminated by radionuclides and for which no use is foreseen".
Such waste is conditioned for long-term storage. Information on the amount of radioactive waste that is held in the UK and also on predicted future arisings of such waste is published every three years by DEFRA and NIREX Ltd. in the National Radioactive Waste Inventory. The most recent inventory was published in 1999. A copy is in the Libraries of the House. An updated edition of the inventory is due for publication later this year. Reprocessing is an activity carried out in order to recover reusable materials from spent nuclear fuel and to separate out the waste contained in the spent fuel. Radioactive waste is not reprocessed. Details of annual throughput at the reprocessing plants at Sellafield are an operational and commercial matter for BNFL.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many tonnes of nuclear waste were transported by rail in the UK in each year since 1997; and what was (a) the source and (b) the destination of the waste. [69135]
Mr. Wilson: I am assuming the question relates to movements by rail of spent nuclear fuel discharged from UK nuclear power stations. Spent nuclear fuel from the UK's Magnox and Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor power stations is routinely transported by rail to the Sellafield site in Cumbria for reprocessing. The power stations that are the source of the spent fuel are situated throughout Great Britain.
The total volume of spent fuel that is transported in any given year would depend entirely on operational factors. Such transports are undertaken by Direct Rail Services (DRS), BNFL's rail freight subsidiary. DRS does not collate information on the total tonnage of fuel that is transported each year. To try to obtain the information requested from the records held at the power stations and Sellafield would involve disproportionate time and cost.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken to (a) review and (b) increase security measures for (i) nuclear facilities and (ii) transportation of nuclear materials including (A) MOX plutonium and (B) nuclear waste following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. [69138]
Mr. Wilson: The DTI's Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), the security regulator, sets stringent standards for security at nuclear sites and for the security of nuclear material during transportation. Security precautions are kept under regular review and have been reviewed in the light of the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001. Security has been enhanced since the events of 11 September. It is not Government policy to disclose details of these security arrangements.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations her Department has received concerning the length of time a
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train carrying nuclear waste may safely be left stationary and the (a) environmental and (b) health implications if this time scale is exceeded. [69041]
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what security measures are employed, and at what cost, during the transportation of nuclear waste within the UK. [69133]
Mr. Wilson: Security measures for nuclear material during transportation are regulated by the DTI's Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), the security regulator. It is not Government policy to disclose details of security measures taken in connection with nuclear material. The costs of security measures are met by the operators.
Ofgem
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under what statutory powers Ofgem operates. [72561]
Mr. Wilson: Ofgem derives its powers from the Gas Act 1986; Electricity Act 1989; Gas Act 1995; Utilities Act 2000; Fair Trading Act 1973; Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976; and the Competition Act 1998.
It also has powers under the Stop Now Orders (EC Directives) Regulations 2001 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
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