Rosyth Dockyard (Hansard, 23 February 1981)

§ Mr. Dick Douglas (Dunfermline)
asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the disappearance of radioactive material from the Royal Naval dockyard at Rosyth.

§ The Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy (Mr. Keith Speed)
A portable radioactive source used in the testing of radiation-measuring instruments in the health physics department at Rosyth dockyard was found to be missing from its normal position on 5 February. So far, searches in the base have failed to locate this equipment and a board of inquiry has been set up by the port admiral.
The radioactive source is in a specially designed container and is not immediately hazardous to health provided that it is not tampered with.

§ Mr. Douglas
Will the Under-Secretary of State confirm the day on which this material was last found to be available in the base at Rosyth? Will he also give some indication of the reasons for its disappearance? Are they related to new constructions in the health physics area of the base? What warnings are available to the public should this piece of material get outside its container? I understand that it is rather a large container, weighing about 241b, so it is not something which could easily go missing. Will he also make sure that as long as this material is still missing he will keep the House and the public informed?

§ Mr. Speed
On the last point, yes, of course.
On the first point, it is for the board of inquiry precisely to determine the circumstances. I hope that there will be an interim report at least within the next few days, so we may get some indication there.
The hon. Gentleman is quite right in what he says about the general public. The container weighs about 241b, it has a diameter of 7 in, it is painted bright orange and it is marked with the words "radioactive material". I am informed that with the unit closed and at a metre range, the dosage rate is insignificant. The danger could arise if the inner container holding the radioactive material were to get out. If any member of the public finds it, he is advised to leave it alone and immediately contact the Ministry of Defence police or the Fife police, who are very much involved in the investigation.

§ Mr. Speaker
I shall call those hon. Members who have already risen to speak, along with the Front Bench speaker.

§ Mr. Barry Henderson (Fife, East)
Is my hon. Friend aware that hon. Members on the Government Benches share the concern of the hon. Member for Dunfermline (Mr. Douglas)? Can he describe the scale of the efforts being made to recover this dangerous material? If the container were broken, would that assist the discovery of the material relatively quickly? Finally, what would be the effect on the container if it were immersed in sea water?

§ Mr. Speed
I thank my hon. Friend for his questions. Both the Ministry of Defence CID and the Fife CID are very much involved in looking for the container. They are being assisted by staff of the health physics department and staff of HMS "Revenge", which is in the dockyard, as well as by other people in the dockyard itself. A major effort 654 is going on to try to track down the whereabouts of the container. The board of inquiry itself is making official inquiries. I am satisfied about the effort being made.
As for whether the breaking of the seal would help detection, the radioactive source would be exposed. Therefore, special equipment is being used so that if the seal is broken the radioactivity can be detected.
As for immersion in sea water, I am informed that a stainless steel inner shield, which protects the radioactive source itself, would not corrode for many years. Therefore, there would be no dispersion of radioactivity in the sea water and no danger to animal or marine life.

§ Mr. William Hamilton (Fife, Central)
How soon was the Under-Secretary informed about when the object was missing? He suggested that it was found to be missing on 5 February, but it was not public knowledge until late last week. Can he explain that delay? Does he not think that this incident shows a terrifying lack in security measures at Rosyth?

§ Mr. Speed
No, I would not wish to anticipate the findings of the board of inquiry. I have every confidence in Admiral Kennon, who has set up the board of inquiry as a matter of urgency. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman, who is normally fair in these matters, will not wish to anticipate its findings either. I was informed last week.
Coming back to the earlier question, we do not yet know; it is true that it was on 5 February, on a routine muster as part of the security arrangements, that the container was first found to be missing. I would not wish to go any further at this stage, because we must see what the board of inquiry, which will be pursuing the matter with considerable vigour, has found out for itself.

§ Dr. Brian Mawhinney (Peterborough)
What is the radioactive source, and what is its strength in curies?

§ Mr. Speed
I cannot tell my hon. Friend what the strength is in curies specifically. There are various amounts of radiation, depending on whether the radioactive source is touched directly on the inner stainless steel container within which it is sealed or whether it is touched on the outer lead container.
For example, contact with the surface of the closed container—the closed container would have to be opened with a special tool to get at the inside stainless steel container—would give a dosage of 20 to 30 millirems per hour. If the container were actually held, it would take 16 hours for the legal dosage for one year to be reached. On the other hand, if the container were opened, the dosage rate would be 1,200 millirems per hour, and it would take about three hours to reach the legal dosage for a year. So my answer depends very much on the circumstances. That is why it is important that anyone finding the container should not interfere with it but should leave it well inside so that the appropriate arrangements can be made for it to be rendered safe.

§ Mr. Bruce Millan (Glasgow, Craigton)
There has been some suggestion in the press that there was considerable delay in informing the local police on this matter. Will the Minister comment on that? If it is true, it is of course worrying. Secondly, even if this container may not be particularly dangerous—unless it is opened, of course—its disappearance raises considerable questions about security at the dockyard. May we be assured, 655 therefore, that the board of inquiry is looking into the widest question of security there and not just this disappearance?

§ Mr. Speed
The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that there are important security aspects. I expect the board of inquiry to address itself to them. There will be an interim report within the next few days, but I expect the final report to address itself to that matter. If it did not, I should wish it to do so.
I am not aware of any great delay in informing the civilian police. However, in the first instance the Ministry of Defence CID was informed. It started its inquiries and then extended them to bring in civilian police. All those matters will be covered by the board of inquiry.