Commission Opinion of 25 April 2005 concerning the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP) in Scotland in the United Kingdom, in accordance with Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty
Date: 2005-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Scotland, nuclear safety, radioactive effluent, waste management

C 101/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

27.4.2005

COMMISSION OPINION

of 25 April 2005

concerning the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from Dounreay Site Restoration
Plan (DSRP) in Scotland in the United Kingdom, in accordance with Article 37 of the Euratom
Treaty

(2005/C 101/12)

(Only the English text is authentic)

On 5 May 2004, the European Commission received from the
Government of
in accordance with
Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty, General Data relating to the
plan for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from the
Dounreay site Restoration Plan (DSRP).

the United Kingdom,

Having examined the General Data, as well as the extensive
amount of complementary information requested during the
review by the Commission in order to complete the informa-
tion provided in the initial General Data, the Commission notes
that
the UK authorities
provided not only new information but also corrections to the
initial General Data in particular as regards the radiological
impact assessment of certain accidents scenarios that could
result in unplanned discharges.

in the course of

this procedure,

On the basis of the entire set of information provided and
following consultation with the Group of Experts, the Commis-
sion has drawn up the following opinion:

1. The distance between the plant and the nearest point of
another Member State, in this case Ireland, is approximately
645 km.

2. Under normal operating conditions, the discharges of liquid
and gaseous effluents will not cause an exposure of the
population in other Member States significant
from the
point of view of health.

3. Low and intermediate level solid radioactive waste arising
from the operations of the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan
will be stored on-site. Low level solid radioactive waste will
be transferred later to Drigg or to other authorised disposal
facilities. Disposal facilities for intermediate level solid radio-
active waste will not be available before 2040. Non-radioac-
tive solid waste and materials in compliance with clearance
levels will be released from regulatory control for disposal
as conventional waste or for recycling or reuse. This will be
done in compliance with the criteria laid down in the Basic
Safety Standards (Directive 96/29/Euratom).

4. In the event of unplanned discharges of radioactive waste,
which may follow an accident of the type and magnitude
considered in the General Data,
the doses likely to be
received by the population in other Member States would
not be significant from the point of view of health.

In conclusion, the Commission is of the opinion that the imple-
mentation of the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste in
whatever form arising from the Dounreay site Restoration Plan
(DSRP) in Scotland in the United Kingdom, both in normal
operation and in the event of an accident of the type and
magnitude considered in the General Data,
is not liable to
result in radioactive contamination, significant from the point
of view of health, of the water, soil or airspace of another
Member State.

However, the Commission notes that fourteen new installations
will be constructed to address specific waste management
requirements in the course of implementation of the DSRP and
that for these installations incomplete data was presented to
the Commission. The Commission confirms the necessity to
obtain further detailed and comprehensive information, as soon
as available, for these installations in order to be able to check
if the current radiological impact assessments in normal and
accidental conditions are still valid. The Commission further
notes that for unplanned releases of radioactive effluents, the
General Data include a categorisation procedure of the facilities,
based on hazard potential and corresponding radiological
consequences, and that only those facilities with the identified
potential to cause a significant threat to members of the public
(off-site dose exceeding 5 mSv) are examined in detail. While
for a complex nuclear site there is merit in introducing a cate-
gorisation of the facilities as regards the accident scenarios, the
Commission is not satisfied that as a matter of simplification
the General Data submitted did not include information on esti-
mated amounts and physico-chemical forms of the radionu-
clides present in each of the facilities on the site nor on the
quantities assumed to be released in the event of the accident
considered for each of those facilities.