Georgian waste was 3 times greater

Dounreay managers have disclosed that the amount of nuclear waste sent there from Georgia was 3 times what had previously been stated. At the time of the shipment it was said that there were 0.8 kgs of highly enriched uranium (HEU) used fuel, plus another 4.2 kgs of unirradiated HEU. What has now been admitted is that there were also 9 kgs of low enriched uranium.

The latest twist to the story only serves to show the degree of secrecy surrounding this deal. The nuclear waste shipment only came into the open when US papers printed the story several days before the consignment was flown from Georgia. The Scottish Secretary, Donald Dewar, said that he had planned to reveal the shipment, but only after it had arrived in Scotland. This is now very questionable. If the story had not been printed in the US we might never have known.

Although the government has been subjected to questioning about the Georgian deal, no-one had specifically asked if it had included any low enriched uranium, and because no-one asked, nothing was said about it. The Open Government policy of the New Labour government has once again been shown to be a sham.

Dounreay