COMMISSION OPINION

of 30 October 2014

relating to the plan for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from the clean-out and partial dismantling as well as the partial reallocation into a temporary storage facility of the Sellafield MOX Plant in the United Kingdom

(Only the English text is authentic)

2014/C 420/01

The assessment below is carried out under the provisions of the Euratom Treaty, without prejudice to any additional assessments to be carried out under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the obligations stemming from it and from secondary legislation(1).

On 17 December 2013, 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 Sellafield MOX Plant.

On the basis of these data and additional information requested by the Commission on 17 January 2014 and provided by the United Kingdom authorities on 25 June 2014, and following consultation with the Group of Experts, the Commission has drawn up the following opinion:

1.

The distance from the site to the nearest border of another Member State, in this case Ireland is 180 km.

2.

Under normal operating conditions, the discharges of gaseous and liquid radioactive effluents are not liable to cause an exposure of the population in another Member State that would be significant from the point of view of health.

3.

Solid radioactive waste will be temporarily stored on site before transfer to licensed disposal facilities within the United Kingdom.

4.

Non-radioactive solid waste and residual materials in compliance with clearance levels will be released from regulatory control for disposal as conventional waste or for reuse or recycling. This will be done in compliance with the criteria laid down in the Basic Safety Standards (Directive 96/29/Euratom).

5.

In the event of unplanned releases of radioactive effluents, which may follow the accidents of the type and magnitude considered in the General Data, the doses likely to be received by the population in another Member State 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 clean-out and partial dismantling as well as from the partial reallocation into an interim storage facility of the Sellafield MOX Plant, located in the United Kingdom, both in normal operation and in the event of the accidents of the type and magnitude considered in the General Data, is not liable to result in a radioactive contamination, significant from the point of view of health, of the water, soil or airspace of another Member State.

Done at Brussels, 30 October 2014.

For the Commission

Günther OETTINGER

Vice-President of the Commission

(1)  For instance, under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, environmental aspects should be further assessed. Indicatively, the Commission would like to draw attention to the provisions of Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, as well as to the Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora and Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.