HC Deb 25 July 1973 vol 860 cc1605-6
19. Mr. Dalyell

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from his observers on the Pitcairn Islands on French nuclear tests.

Mr. Amery

Our team in the Pitcairn Islands has reported no evidence of fallout.

Mr. Dalyell

Does that mean that the Foreign Office is quite sure that there is no identifiable trace of short-lived iodine 131?

Mr. Amery

The evidence we have received from the team shows no evidence of fall-out in any form. The team has a wide range of sensitive apparatus to monitor radioactivity levels, in the air, on the ground and in the water, and to check contamination of clothes. The specific constituents can be determined from radiological monitoring equipment.

Mr. Cormack

Has my right hon. Friend any evidence of the recent Russian nuclear explosion, reported earlier this week to have been the biggest ever?

Mr. Amery

I should have to have notice of that question.