Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to provide alternatives to the disposal of nuclear waste into the Irish Sea; and if he will make a statement.

The UK Government’s policy is to manage nuclear waste through responsible storage and disposal to permitted facilities on land, not disposal into the sea.

Disposal of nuclear waste into the sea from vessels is prohibited under the London Convention.

As a party to the OSPAR Convention, the UK has committed to reduce liquid radioactive discharges to the marine environment by nuclear site operators. These discharges are tightly regulated and discharge levels are low. A review of the UK’s Radioactive Discharges Strategy, published in June this year, shows that the UK is meeting its international commitments with significant reductions in discharges.