§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what increases in marine pollution may be expected to arise from the proposed expansion of British Nuclear Fuels' reprocessing activities at Windscale.
§ Mr. BennMarine pollution from Windscale, in the sense of discharge of radioactivity to the sea, is governed by authorisations issued by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. These incorporate limits set with the objective of keeping public exposure well below dose limits recommended as permissible by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and endorsed by the Medical Research Council. It is expected that BNFL will operate its enlarged plant within the overall limits set by these current authorisations so that public exposure should not be significantly increased.