British And American Plutonium Imports And Exports

EDM number 392 in 1995-96, proposed by Ken Purchase on 07/02/1996.

That this House welcomes the publication by the United States Department of Energy on 6th February of a full inventory of nuclear materials imported and exported, giving details of locations, forms and amounts of plutonium, enriched uranium and other sensitive materials; notes the Secretary of Energy, Hazel O'Leary's stated purpose in disclosing the information was to put an onus on openness rather than secrecy; acknowledges the disclosure that the United States has imported 5,360 kilogrammes of plutonium between 1959 and 1980 from the United Kingdom; contrasts this figure with the 4,000 kilogrammes which the British civil nuclear industry asserted at the Sizewell inquiry had been exported in total to the United States, under the 1958 US/UK Mutual Defense Agreement on Atomic Energy Co-operation, as amended; recalls that Government ministers, whilst refusing to disclose the quantities of plutonium exported for military purposes to the United States on national security grounds, have never contradicted the 4,000 kilogrammes figure; notes with alarm that the discrepancy of 1,360 kilogrammes of plutonium between the two figures equates to at least 350 warheads; and demands the Government follows the lead of the US Government and publishes full details of plutonium stocks and exports.

This motion has been signed by a total of 49 MPs.