Dr. ThomasTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the dangers posed to undersea rescue services in attempts to recover the container of Lindane chemicals lost off the sunken Perintis freighter in March by the surplus conventional explosives and radioactive waste packages disposed of in the third deep trench at 49 degrees 50 minutes north, two degrees 18 minutes west in the 1950's.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI have been asked to reply.
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Attendance of trade union representatives Attendance of private sector representatives Area Manpower Board Number of meetings Possible Actual Possible Actual 1. Berkshire and Oxfordshire 6 25 15 32 16 2. Hampshire and Isle of Wight 9 33 23 42 25 3. Kent 12 60 31 60 26 4. Surrey 11 55 44 55 34 5. East And West Sussex 13 65 54 52 37 6. Buckinghamshire 8 24 19 32 13 7. Essex 7 33 16 42 31 8. Hertfordshire 6 18 16 30 12 9. London North 12 48 42 60 35 10. London South East 13 39 22 78 45 11. London South and West 11 55 37 55 32 12. London North East 11 56 24 48 27 13. Dorset and Somerset 12 60 36 60 32 14. Avon 12 60 28 60 24 15. Devon and Cornwall 11 44 26 44 25 The area in question was used by the United Kingdom for the disposal of surplus conventional munitions from 1946 until about 1971, and for the disposal of low grade radioactive waste from 1950 to 1963. The disposal site is publicised in Admiralty charts and in OECD Nuclear Energy Agency publications, both of which are readily available. The recovery of the container of Lindane, lost from the MV Perintis, is the responsibility of the French Government, who are aware of the presence of the disposal site and have made contact with my Department. The danger to any recovery operation posed by the radioactive waste is considered negligible. The presence of conventional explosives in the area should not prevent such an operation, provided that standard procedures for dealing with explosives are followed.