Nuclear Submarines: Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date her Department received the request from the Health and Safety Executive to review the radius of the emergency pre-planning zone around a berthed nuclear submarine. (321373)

I have been asked to reply.

The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for determining the radius of a Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ) around a berthed nuclear-powered submarine. The decision to reduce the DEPZ from 2 km to 1.5 km was based on a hazard assessment for such submarines that the Ministry of Defence submitted to the HSE in February 2008. The HSE completed a review of the assessment and informed the Ministry of Defence of the outcome of that review in December 2008.