WRITTEN QUESTION P-0661/98 by Undine-Uta Bloch von Blottnitz (V) to the Commission (2 March 1998)

Subject: Nuclear waste at Dounreay

After previous revelations about the disposal of nuclear waste in a shaft close to the British reprocessing facility at Dounreay 'The Guardian' has now been able to produce evidence in early February that, since 1971, considerable quantities of highly hazardous radioactive waste materials have been sunk in a further - hitherto unknown - shaft on the site of the facility. This waste includes at least 40 kg of uranium, plutonium and sodium.

In its Decision 92/194/Euratom of 4 March 1992 ((OJ L 88, 3.4.1992, p. 54. )) the Commission required the operators of the Dounreay reprocessing facility to make considerable improvements to its accounting system for highly radioactive materials; otherwise, it threatened further sanctions.

1. How does the Commission assess the disposal of radioactive waste at Dounreay, above all in terms of its technical implementation and its effects on the health of operating personnel and on the cleanliness of the environment?

2. Does it share the view that, alone because of the practice of uncontrolled disposal by the operators of the Dounreay facility, a consistent recording and accounting system for radioactive materials could have no prospect of success?

3. Did it during its inspections - not least in connection with the procedure in question - acquire information about the disposal practices of the facility's operators?

3.1. If so, when and in what way was the problem dealt with?

3.2. If not, how does it estimate the impact of such a lack of information on the operation of the verification and accounting arrangements for fissile materials and on the reliability of its own inspections?

4. What steps will it be taking in view of the revelations?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (27 March 1998)

According to the information available to the Commission the statements made in the question are not entirely accurate. The 'unknown shaft' referred to in the Guardian of 2 February 1998 is a disposal area named 'Intermediate solid waste silo'. The silo was first used in 1971 and has recently attracted publicity because the responsible national authority (Nuclear installations inspectorate, NII) has decided that it does not meet the latest standards for this type of disposal site. As a result the operator has agreed to stop using it for further disposals by the end of 1998. In line with Commission Regulation (Euratom) No 3227/76 of 19 October 1976 concerning the application of the provisions on Euratom safeguards ((OJ L 363, 31.12.1976. )), the operator has provided the Commission (Euratom safeguards directorate) with the basic technical characteristics (BTC) of this plant.

The Commission would underline that it is the responsibility of Member States to ensure compliance with the Community basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation. Consequently, the national authorities carry out regular checks on the monitoring provisions which are put in place for that purpose.

Nonetheless, in May 1993, under the terms of Article 35 of the Euratom Treaty, Commission representatives visited the Dounreay site and the surrounding area in order to verify the operation and efficiency of the facilities established by the United Kingdom authorities to monitor continuously the level of radioactivity in the air, water and soil to ensure compliance with the basic safety standards. It was concluded that the United Kingdom had suitable arrangements in place.

The Commission is not aware that there exists anything like 'uncontrolled' disposal operations at the Dounreay reprocessing plant, as the Commission is provided with the information required to perform the safeguards verification activities foreseen by the Euratom Treaty.

In line with Commission Regulation 3227/76, the operator has provided the Commission with the basic technical characteristics of the Dounreay reprocessing plant and all related installations, such as the waste silo. Updates are sent when appropriate. The basic technical characteristics are re-verified by the Commission on a regular basis. In addition, the Commission performs continual inspections at the Dounreay site. Except for the issues covered by the sanctions mentioned in the question and which were resolved subsequently, there were no anomalies detected.

The Commission intends to continue its safeguards operations at the Dounreay site in accordance with Chapter VII of the Euratom Treaty subject, of course, to the resources being available.