Mr. Denis Duff:

I would like to address the issue raised by the Chairman and the issue of waste raised by Deputy Phelan. It is important to be aware that with regular fossil fuel power stations, waste is emitted into the atmosphere. For example, a coal fired station in Moneypoint would release 5 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, plus other gases. However, the waste or spent fuel from an equivalent sized nuclear power station would only extend to about 5 cu. m per annum. Also, we would know where that waste was, as it would be stored. It would be cooled for a number of years and then stored and we would know exactly where it was and could manage it.

Technically, there are a number of storage solutions. One would be to store the waste underground in safe geological areas. There is such a safe area being built in Finland. A similar solution has been proposed in the United States, while Sweden is also on the cusp of announcing where its geological storage areas will be. If we decide we do not want to put the waste in geological storage areas, it could be reprocessed and turned into new nuclear fuel. Another breed of reactors which may be ten or 15 years away will use this used nuclear fuel that we call waste today. They are called breeder reactors and will produce 60 times more energy from the fuel used first time around. Technically, therefore, there is a solution to the issue of waste.

Waste is not an issue that has been hugely problematic for the industry to date, although I accept it has caused huge public concern. The civil nuclear industry is probably 50 or 60 years old and, in general, no attempt is made to store spent fuel until approximately 50 years after its use. Therefore, waste is not a major issue because the quantities are small and manageable.

On the Chairman's question about advanced and emerging nations, there are a number of reactors in emerging nations. However, there are not so many in advanced nations. The United Kingdom has just announced that it is to build a reactor. Finland is building a reactor, as is France. Four are being built in the United States.