Clause 12 - General duties when carrying out functions
Energy Bill [Lords]
8:55 am
Mr Norman Baker (Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
The purpose of the amendments is to make crystal clear what the Liberal Democrats believe the principal objective of the NDA should be, which is to protect the health and safety of people and to protect the environment from the harmful effect of radiation from those sites for which the NDA has responsibility. The Minister might say that those functions are implicit, or explicit, in the wording of the Bill. He might refer to subsection (1)(b), which refers to the need to safeguard the environment. However, I would suggest that it is important to establish a primary duty for the NDA. The need to safeguard the environment, and the need to protect persons, is just one of a number of considerations in the Bill. It should be the primary consideration for public health and environmental reasons, and it would be helpful if that were stated in the Bill.
There are good reasons why we should ensure that the environment is safeguarded. It is fair to say the nuclear industry has a legacy of problems, such as environmental contamination, that have to be cleared up. The Minister will be aware of the suggestions—borne out by figures from his Department—that there have been nuclear emissions from Sellafield that were harmful to the environment over a long period. They have generated complaints from within this country and from outside as well.
The Minister will know that the nuclear industry has created ponds at Sellafield—B30 ponds and others—and it is clear that no one knows what is in them. Therefore no one is a position to have them cleared up. It is impossible for Nirex to take responsibility for the ponds unless it is clear what is in them. The history of the nuclear industry protecting the environment has not been a happy one, in that regard at least. That is not to say that it has not prevented major accidents because it has—with the exception of Windscale in the 1950s. Since then there has not been a major accident, which is a tribute to the industry. There has been a low-level history of contamination and a failure to safeguard the environment, and that should be addressed at this point.
There is a major problem with the clean-up of what is already there. We know from an answer that the Minister gave to me on 19 January that the White
Paper, ''Managing the Nuclear Legacy'', which his Department published in July 2002, showed that the costs associated with the clean-up of civil nuclear liabilities in just one area—Springfields—would be about £300 million. He will also be aware that the Trade and Industry Committee, which looked into the matter, believes that the NDA needs a clear set of overarching principles. I refer him to paragraph 13 of that cross-party report, which says:
''We consider that a clear and unambiguous statement of the overarching principles within which the NDA will work would be a useful addition to the draft Bill. Such a statement would have most force if it were given in the main body of the Bill.''
My amendment would ensure that the Trade and Industry Committee has its wish granted, and that such a statement is made explicit in the Bill.
I am sure that the Minister will say, ''Don't worry; it's all here. The Bill talks about the need to safeguard the environment and the need to protect persons.'' He will say that all the issues that I have raised are dealt with. In a sense, they are dealt with, but not in a way that states what the principal duty of the NDA shall be. We have heard in previous debates that the NDA will now be involved in generation to some degree, and it may be involved in producing nuclear fuel. It will be involved in a whole range of activities that are ancillary—to put it mildly, or generously—to the purpose of decommissioning. Under circumstances in which that remit is broadening, it is important that the NDA should focus on its primary function: to protect people's health and safety and the environment. It would be helpful for the Government, who I think take that view, if such a statement were included in the Bill.