Favourable Commission opinion on plan for disposal of radioactive waste arising from decommissioning of UK's Dungeness A nuclear power station (OJ link)

Brussels, April 2005

Commission opinion of 25 April 2004 concerning the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning of the Dungeness A Nuclear Power Station located in Kent in the United Kingdom, in accordance with Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty (OJ C101/16 .4.2005).
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On 24 September 2004, the European Commission received from the Government of the United Kingdom, in accordance with Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty, General Data relating to the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning of the Dungeness A Nuclear Power Station.

On the basis of the General Data and following consultation with the Group of Experts, the Commission has drawn up the following opinion:

(a) The distance between the plant and the nearest point of another Member State, in this case France, is approximately 50 km while Belgium and The Netherlands are at 110 km and 160 km respectively.

(b) During normal decommissioning operation, discharges of liquid and gaseous effluents will not cause an exposure of the population in other Member States that is significant from the point of view of health.

(c) Solid radioactive waste arising from the treatment of waste will be stored in a facility off-site. Nonradioactive 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).

(d) In the event of unplanned releases 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 implementation of the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste in whatever form arising from the decommissioning of the Dungeness A Nuclear Power Station 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.