Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the expected total number of tons of waste material arising from the construction of the new Hinkley Point power station to be deposited in the Cardiff Grounds.
Answered by Lord Henley
The amount of dredge material requested by the applicant in the marine licence application is for a maximum of 280,000 tonnes. The original figure was higher than this, however the licence holder now requires dredging from a smaller area.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the precise nature of the waste material to be removed from the construction site for the new Hinkley Point power station; what contaminants are expected to be found within that material; and whether they have evidence that that material might include irradiated material.
Answered by Lord Henley
The material to be removed from the dredge site is sediment, consisting of clay, silt, sand and gravel. A range of chemical and radiological materials were tested for, which included gamma emitting radionuclides and chemicals. These tests, carried out by an accredited laboratory, showed that the levels of chemicals and radionuclides were within acceptable levels under international guidelines and considered to be safe.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why Cardiff Grounds was chosen for the deposit of waste material arising from the construction of the new Hinkley Point power station.
Answered by Lord Henley
We understand that in pre-application discussions, it was recommended to the applicant by English and Welsh Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies that the sediment from the proposed dredging site should remain within the Severn Estuary Special Area of Conservation (SAC) so as not to affect the overall sediment amounts of the SAC. It was decided that disposal in the immediate vicinity of the dredge site may adversely affect some of the SAC feature in the wider area and so it was considered that an established disposal site within the same estuary would be preferential. Cardiff Grounds was chosen as the preferred site. The Licence application was presented with this location as the applicant’s choice and the application was assessed by the licensing authority on this basis.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the process of depositing waste material arising from the construction of the new Hinkley Point power station in the Cardiff Grounds to begin.
Answered by Lord Henley
The dredge disposal will not commence until permission has been granted by the licencing authority. It is expected that work will begin summer 2018, once the permission has been granted.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks will be undertaken to ensure that no contaminated waste material arising from the construction of the new Hinkley Point power station will be shipped for depositing in the Cardiff Grounds; and who will conduct those checks.
Answered by Lord Henley
The sediment has been sampled and tested for chemical and radiological substances. An accredited laboratory, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), has undertaken the testing and analysis in accordance with international guidelines. Permission is only granted to dispose of material that is deemed safe according to these internationally established guidelines.