---

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

Answer

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 21 January 1999, Official Report, column 562, if he will make a statement on the five incidents involving interception of illegally imported radioactive contaminated metals; when and where the metals were discovered; what their origin was; and what steps have been taken to prosecute those responsible. [69628] Mr. Meale: The five cases referred to in my answer of 21 January are: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Date Location discovered Origin July 1997 Willenhall Possibly Russia July 1997 Sheffield Probably Russia September 1997 Sheffield Probably South Africa July 1998 Sheffield Georgia August 1998 Hathersage, N. Derbyshire Probably Russia _________________________________________________________________________________________________. The people discovering the above incidents in the United Kingdom are not considered to be at fault; they acted very responsibly in declaring an inadvertent importation of radioactive materials, to the Environment Agency. They could not have known about the radioactive content before receipt. Therefore no enforcement action has been taken in the UK. No information is available about what action was taken overseas. The assistance of the metals industries in protecting the environment and the public from the potential consequences of such incidents is welcomed. The Environment Agency works with overseas enforcement authorities, by exchanging information via the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and INTERPOL, to help them pursue regulatory investigations in the countries of origin.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

69628; 325 c152-3W

Session

1998-99

Subjects

EU law Import controls Imports Radioactive waste Recycling Metals Waste disposal