§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the dosage limits for radiation beyond which it is considered harmful for human beings to suffer exposure.
§ Mrs. RumboldOn the grounds of prudence it is generally assumed there is no threshold level for the effects of exposure to radiation. However, international recommendations permit exposures up to 1 milli-Sievert per year on average throughout life with a possibility of 5 milli-Sievert per year for a short period. The risk to any individual from exposures at these levels is considered to be negligible.
§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is considered to be the normal level tai background radiation in the atmosphere so far as the United Kingdom is concerned.
§ Mrs. RumboldNormal background radiation in the United Kingdom varies between 0.1 and 0.3[...] Sieverts per hour depending on the geological [...] in the area. About one third of this radiation [...] associated with radioactivity in air; primarily [...] thoron and their decay products from natural [...] in the earth.
§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the highest level of background radiation recorded in the United Kingdom since the Chernobyl accident.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe highest level of radiation reported by the NRPB was 1 micro-Sievert per hour for a brief period at two places in Cumbria and one in north Wales on Saturday 3 May 1986.
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§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the amount of total potential fallout from Chernobyl.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIt is not possible to estimate the total potential fallout until the Russian authorities release further technical details.
§ Mr. Frank Cookasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will compare the normal levels of background radiation with those levels of radiation recorded on Friday 2 May, Saturday 3 May, Sunday 4 May, Monday 5 May and Tuesday 6 May at Dounreay, Darlington, Didcot and Dulwich; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will provide the specific daily readings taken at each monitoring location identified by name throughout the United Kingdom for separate levels of iodine 131, tellurium 132, iodine 132, ruthenium 103 and caesium 137, from 25 April to the latest available date; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish the level of radioactive traces in rainwater for each area of the United Kingdom for each day from Friday 2 May to Wednesday 7 May.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ask the National Radiological Protection Board to publish all the detailed readings of radiation levels available to it over the past two weeks.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to monitor regularly radioactivity levels in the north of England and Scotland in the light of the Chernobyl incident; what steps he has taken to inform and protect the public in the present situation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Rumbold[pursuant to the replies, 8 May 1986]: I refer the hon. Members to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment in the House on 6 May 1986 at column 21. Samples have been taken daily, and since last Friday 2 May daily bulletins have been issued by the NRPB after consultation with Government Departments. Extensive monitoring will continue and its results will be made available to the public and the House. Because the information requested is so bulky it is being made available through the press offices in my Department. Department of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.