§ 55. Mr. Masonasked the Prime Minister to what extent the Medical Research Council have monitored the fallout of radioactivity following atom and hydrogen bomb tests; to what extent they have found that radioactivity is falling along a defined global track; what is the relative position of this country to this path; and how many strontium units have so far been detected in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI have been asked to reply.
Monitoring by the Atomic Energy Authority has not shown conclusively that radioactvity is falling along a defined global track, though there are indications that fall-out is somewhat heavier in the northern than in the southern hemisphere. Measurements of the fall-out in the United Kingdom and in various parts of the world are given in the Report by the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, entitled "The World-Wide Deposition of Long-Lived Fission Products from Nuclear Test Explosions." a copy of which is in the Library.