WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3244/97 by Alfonso NOVO BELENGUER to the Commission. Radioactive waste
Date: 1997-10-20
Institutions: European Parliament, NOVO BELENGUER
Subjects: France, United Kingdom, environmental protection, fuel reprocessing, marine pollution, nuclear power station, nuclear safety, plutonium, public health, radioactive waste

30. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134/123

Under  Directive  93/11/EEC  concerning  the  release  of  N-nitrosamines  and  N-nitrosatable  substances  from
elastomer  or  rubber  teats  and  soothers (2),  Member  States  must  prohibit  the  marketing  and  use  of  teats  and
soothers which release a certain amount of N-nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances. Using the powers vested
in it, the Commission will ensure that all the Member States comply with this obligation in order to protect the
safety of European consumers.

(1)  OJ L 228, 11.8.1992.
(2)  OJ L 93, 17.4.1993.

(98/C 134/161)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3244/97

by Alfonso Novo Belenguer (ARE) to the Commission

(20 October 1997)

Subject: Radioactive waste

It  has  emerged  that  at  the  plutonium  reprocessing  plants  of  La  Hague  in  France  and  Sellafield  in  Britain
radioactive waste has been disposed of in the sea.

It  is  estimated  that  200  000  cubic  metres  of  plutonium,  a  dangerous  substance  which  remains  active  for
250 000 years, is dumped in the sea annually.

The situation is so alarming that the French Government even banned bathing and fishing in the sea near the plant
last June, in view of the threat to public health.

Does the Commission know about the dumping of plutonium in the sea at La Hague and Sellafield?

Has  the  Commission  carried  out  any  detailed  study  about  the  dumping  to  ascertain  its  legality  and  the
environmental impact?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(19 November 1997)

Both  France  and  the  United  Kingdom  have  undertaken  to  respect  the  ban  on  the  dumping  of  radioactive
substances  at  sea  as  outlined  in  the  1992  Oslo-Paris  (OSPAR)  convention  for  the  protection  of  the  marine
environment of the north-east Atlantic, which is in the process of replacing the two earlier conventions of Oslo
and  Paris  respectively.  That  ban,  however,  concerns  the  dumping  of  wastes  at  sea  and  does  not  refer  to  the
discharge of low-level liquid wastes from land-based installations which is controlled within strict authorisations
issued by national authorities.

In July 1996, under the terms of Article 35 of the Euratom Treaty, the Commission verified the environmental
monitoring facilities established at and around the La Hague site. It was concluded that suitable arrangements
were in place for monitoring levels of radioactivity in the environment.

In respect of restrictions on access around the La Hague site, the Commission understands that legal restrictions
on public access to a zone around the pipe outlet and within a corridor along the pipeline have been in place for
many  years.  Earlier  this  year,  those  restrictions  were  extended  briefly  while  the  French  government
commissioned studies into levels of radioactivity around the La Hague nuclear reprocessing site. The report of
those studies concludes that levels of activity discharged were within the limits set by the national authorities.
Furthermore,  it  confirmed  that  levels  of  radioactivity  in  the  environment  led  to  doses  to  the  most  exposed
members of the public which were well below the limits specified in the Community basic safety standards.