§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what improvements he proposes in the arrangements for regular monitoring of all levels of radioactivity throughout Scotland, in the light of the recent Chernobyl incident and representations from local inhabitants and others in southwest Scotland.
§ Mr. AncramThe regular monitoring of radioactivity in the environment in Scotland is already kept under review. The need for any extension to these arrangements, in the light of the Chernobyl incident and representations about monitoring in general, is currently being considered by my Department in conjunction with other agencies involved in this field, such as the National Radiological Protection Board.
§ Mr. Norman Hoggasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements are made by his Department for monitoring radioactivity among livestock; and he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John MacKayA wide-ranging programme of testing of both grazing animals and animals in slaughterhouses has been put in hand and will be continued for as long as is necessary. The results of tests on animals in slaughterhouses have given rise to no cause for concern. Results are being published as and when they become available.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letter of 2 June to him from the Director of the Clyde:river purification board on monitoring of radioactivity in the Clyde area and his reply; if he will give the information on 385W which he based his statement that the board had undertaken monitoring of radioactivity in the Clyde estuary; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AncramI have arranged for copies of the letter of 2 June from the Director of the Clyde river purification board and the Scottish Development Department's reply of 19 June to be placed in the Library.
The Scottish Development Department's letter did not state that the Clyde river purification board was undertaking monitoring of radioactivity but clarified earlier correspondence which appears to have led to this erroneous interpretation. The correct position is that long term research work on radioactivity in the Clyde estuary being undertaken by the department of chemistry of Glasgow university involved the analysis of water samples taken by the Clyde river purification board.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what indications were obtained from spectographic and other analysis of the radioactivity in lambs, and elsewhere in South West Scotland of the source or sources.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe ratio of the two caesium isotopes (Cs-134 and Cs-137) found in current tests on lambs is characteristic of Chernobyl fallout.