§ 2.52 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF CORK AND ORRERYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what types of radiation hazard would arise in these Islands in the event of nuclear warfare anywhere in the world.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, HOME OFFICE (LORD STONHAM)My Lords, the principal hazard would arise from direct bodily exposure to the radiation emitted by the fallout dust. A minor long-term hazard is the possibility of radioactive elements entering the human body in contaminated foodstuffs. Nuclear explosions in a distant theatre of war could have effects on this country similar in nature, but possibly more severe, than those produced by atmospheric nuclear tests before the test ban treaty.
§ THE EARL OF CORK AND ORRERYMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. May I ask him whether he is aware of a quotation from a Government White Paper which I hold in my hand; namely:
Given a sufficient number of bombs, no part of the world would escape exposure to biologically significant levels of radiation. To a greater or less degree, a legacy of genetic damage would be incurred, and an increased incidence of delayed effects on the individual would probably be induced".I wonder whether the noble Lord could tell me what the Government are envisaging in the way of protection against such 908 an event in these Islands, from whatever source?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, the protection asked for by the noble Lord is of course protection from explosions anywhere in the world. If an explosion takes place in this country the effects would be as described in the quotation which he read out; but with regard to the effects of explosions in other parts of the world, they would diminish in degree according to the distance of the explosion and, of course, according to wind and weather conditions. It is not possible for me to answer the noble Lord's point in this way unless he addresses questions to me on the specific kinds of protection and danger.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, the noble Lord said that there was danger to food and milk, and so on. I am aware that there were arrangements to deal with this matter. Can the noble Lord say whether the Government keep these arrangements up to date?
§ LORD STONHAMYes, my Lords; and this is the kind of specific point that I had in mind in referring to the noble Earl's Question. If there is a nuclear explosion outside this country, then the danger to packed foods would be virtually negligible. There would, however, be a danger of contamination to exposed foodstuffs including milk and perishable food, such as greenstuffs and fruits, and the normal analytical resources available in this country are sufficient for this purpose.
In regard to the question of milk, if radiation occurred to a fair degree, then of course the milk from cows would not be usable for quite a number of days. But if it was a more distant explosion we should have time to warn farmers so that they could feed cows on feeding stuffs rather than grass in the field and there would be no danger. With regard to water, there is no danger of contamination to water from underground sources, and so far as reservoirs are concerned insoluble particles of radioactive material would be dealt with by the ordinary filters, and the danger from soluble particles is not considered very great.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for that full answer. What I really had in mind was 909 whether the arrangements are still in full force for distributing uncontaminated food?
§ LORD STONHAMYes, my Lords; the arrangements are precisely the same as they were before and as they have been for some time, except that there are somewhat smaller total stocks of food stored in the country at the present time.