Fourth quarter of 1999

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UK will keep Canadian reprocessing wastes

Parliamentary question and government answer (dated 5 November 1999)

[Posted 26/10/1999]

According to the following parliamentary question and government answer (dated 5 November 1999), the UK will keep reprocessing waste from contracts signed with Canadian customers in 1970.

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what quantities of spent fuel from Canada have been contracted for reprocessing at Sellafield; when the contracts were agreed; what arrangements exist for the repatriation of the reprocessed plutonium and radioactive waste; when the spent fuel arrived from Canada; and if it has been reprocessed yet. [96467]

Mrs. Liddell: The details and quantities of individual contracts, the timing of fuel deliveries and of reprocessing for specific customers as well as the detailed arrangements for returning plutonium and wastes to the country of origin are commercial and operational matters for BNFL and its customers. In understand from BNFL, however, that BNFL concluded a contract to reprocess a quantity of Canadian spent fuel in 1970 and that fuel covered by this contract has been delivered to Sellafield. Since 1976 all BNFL's contracts for reprocessing overseas spent fuel have contained options for the return of wastes to the country of origin. The Government's policy is that these options should be exercised. BNFL's overseas reprocessing contracts concluded prior to 1976 do not contain return of waste options.

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