MEDICAL giant Nycomed Amersham is set to transport radioactive waste out of the area almost a year after winning the right to move it into Little Chalfont.

Residents were outraged after Nycomed won permission to move more radioactive waste from its factory in Oxfordshire to other sites including Little Chalfont, in April last year.

But this week, Nycomed Amersham revealed the company planned to reduce the amount of radioactive substances it produced, at the same time as decommissioning redundant plant and buildings at its Little Chalfont base.

David Boyd of Nycomed Amersham, said: "We are proposing to reduce the amount of radioactivity we produce. The amount we currently produce is minuscule anyway, but we are applying to the Environment Agency to cut back the amount of gases we discharge into the air.

"We propose to increase the amount of radioactive material we send to incinerators around the UK."

Nycomed Amersham produces a range of radioactive materials for treatment of patients with cancer and other diseases.

Radioactive waste items disposed at the plant include swabs, lab coats, test tubes and and diluting agents.

Even though Nycomed Amersham is reducing the amount of radioactive waste emitted from its base in Little Chalfont, it still needs public approval to handle and dispose of potentially dangerous materials -- including inert gases such as Xenon and Krypton.

Chris Mills, of the Environment Agency, which regulates radioactive emissions, said: "We take the regulation of nuclear sites very seriously and will carefully consider this application, consulting fully with the public and other bodies before making any decisions."

The agency is set to make a decision in early 2000 after consultation with public authorities and the general public.

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