Radioactive Mud (Disposal)

Mr. Tony Banks
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment where the radioactive Windscale mud deposited by Greenpeace outside the Department of the Environment was disposed of; what route it took; what  tests and precautions took place; and whether any consultations were made with the respective local authorities.

Mrs. Rumbold
Exhaustive tests indicated that the material deposited by Greenpeace outside the Department of the Environment on 26 February 1985 was not radioactive waste and that it presented no hazard to the public or to those handling it. It was therefore disposed of by a private waste disposal contractor who was responsible  for arranging for its transport and burial at a commercial landfill site. There was no occasion for consultations with local authorities.