Written answers

Tuesday, 28 June 2005

Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Nuclear Plants

10:00 pm

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he continues to have confidence in the capacity of the British Nuclear Inspectorate to be fully briefed by BNFL on possible future incidents at Sellafield in view of the prolonged delay by BNFL in issuing a full public statement on the recent serious incident at Sellafield; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22290/05]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will make a statement on the recent serious incident at Sellafield and the implications arising for the long-term future of reprocessing as a result. [22289/05]

Photo of Gerard MurphyGerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on whether BNFL can be trusted to run the Sellafield plant in Cumbria; if the recent leak at the plant has reduced that confidence further; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22287/05]

Photo of Emmet StaggEmmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the latest information available to his Department on the origins and extent of the leak at the THORP reprocessing plant on 19 April 2005; if he has satisfied himself that the information supplied adequately reflected the seriousness of the leak; the steps he took to verify the information supplied to his Department; if his attention has been drawn to media reports suggesting that the leak was so serious that the THORP plant may have to close indefinitely; the action he has taken or intends to take arising from this incident; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22197/05]

Photo of Dick RocheDick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 32, 52, 103 and 108 together.

The recent leakage at the THORP reprocessing plant in the Sellafield complex has underscored the legitimacy of Government policy that Sellafield should be closed in a safe and orderly manner because of the threat it poses to Ireland. While the leak was contained and did not constitute an immediate hazard to the local population or region or to Ireland, the fact of its occurrence and subsequent revelations concerning its origin, quantity and the period it remained undetected do not promote confidence in the management and operation of the site.

A discrepancy in the amounts of uranium and plutonium in the THORP process was first noticed on 18 April and, following camera inspections, the process was shut down on 21 April. Further investigation showed that 83,000 litres or 83 cubic metres of liquid, which contains uranium, plutonium and fission products, was spilt but was contained on the floor of a sealed cell with walls several feet thick.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland was advised of the leak by the UK's Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency on the same day the process was shut down, 21 April 2005. Officials of my Department were advised on 22 April. The institute deals directly with the UK regulatory authorities, not BNFL, in accessing information and has kept in touch with its counterparts in the UK on the issues arising from the incident. The institute has been satisfied with the quality and timing of the information flow from the UK authorities and has no reason to doubt the integrity or accuracy of the information received to date.

On 27 May 2005, British Nuclear Group, formerly BNFL, issued the findings of an internal investigation of the THORP incident. The findings do not have any implications for Ireland and confirmed that the leak which had occurred had been contained in the secondary containment area designed for this purpose. However, the investigation also found that the pipe may have started to fail in August 2004 and that actual failure of the pipe may have occurred in January 2005 and, although the failure itself could not have been prevented, the quantity of liquid released would have been significantly less if opportunities had not been missed in the monitoring of the process.

I understand that an independent investigation is currently underway by the UK regulatory authority. I have requested the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and departmental officials to liaise closely with their counterparts in the UK on this investigation and any other issues of concern arising from the incident.

The THORP incident is an extremely serious one, as is reflected in the class 3 rating applied to the incident under the international nuclear event scale. Accordingly, I have raised the issue directly in writing with the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and have sought an early meeting. Furthermore, I have also drawn the THORP incident to the attention of the European Commissioner for Energy.

I understand that, at a minimum, it will take several months before it will be possible for the THORP plant to resume operation. While there is wide speculation that this incident may precipitate a further evaluation of the reprocessing operations at THORP, resulting in an earlier closure date than 2010 as is currently proposed, I am not aware of any decisions on this issue by the UK. However, the recent incident offers the opportunity to the UK to decide on the termination of reprocessing operations at Sellafield as soon as possible. Obviously, this will be among the issues I will pursue with my UK ministerial counterparts when we meet.

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