§ Mr. Masonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many inspectors are employed by his Department to keep a watch on the aqueous radioactive discharges from atomic power stations; and how often 199W visits are made to observe these discharges from the Windscale works.
§ Mr. GodberThere are at present three officers of my Department concerned with these inspections and visits to Wind-scale take place at approximately three-monthly intervals.
§ Mr. Masonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied about the safety of the discharges of aqueous radioactive waste into the sea, particularly off the coast of Cumberland; to what extent fish and seaweed are being affected; whether the experiments now being conducted for the purpose of determining these questions are designed to continue indefinitely or terminate after a predetermined period; and whether the results will be published.
§ Mr. GodberI am advised that the discharges of aqueous radioactive wastes into the sea has no appreciable effect on fish or seaweed at the levels at present authorised. Tests of the effluents will he continued indefinitely. Results of scientific interest will be published in due course.