To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what contingency plans her Department has in place to ensure that coastal communities are protected in the case of a breach in the transportation of highly radioactive high level waste from Sellafield to Switzerland across the Irish Sea.
Answered on
9 September 2015
The safety and security of nuclear material is a Government priority. Shipments of high level waste are subject to stringent regulation concerning safety and security.
For reasons of national security, we do not comment on the transport of nuclear materials. However, in the event of a breach the transport will be undertaken by International Nuclear Services (INS), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The transport ship to be used is dedicated to the transport of nuclear materials that is classified by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) of the United Nations at its highest level of Class INF 3. It has many extra safety features that would not be found on conventional cargo vessels.
This transport complies with the requirements of all government regulators and all relevant international obligations and recommendations on the physical protection of nuclear material.
As the carrier of nuclear cargoes, INS has direct responsibilities placed on it for emergency planning, preparedness and response by the transport regulations set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and (IMO). INS top level emergency plans are approved by the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) in the UK. INS vessels are monitored by a 24-hour report centre in the UK, allowing unforeseen events to be evaluated and responded to quickly.
Nuclear materials have been transported since the advent of nuclear power over 50 years ago. There has never been an accident in which a container of highly radioactive material has been breached or has leaked. In the highly unlikely case of an accident having any nuclear consequences, the Paris and Brussels Conventions would enable a person who suffered injury or damage from the nuclear characteristics of the cargo to recover compensation without having to prove that anyone was at fault.