Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the accident involving radioactivity at Sellafield on 5 September; when his Department was informed; and what were the causes and consequences of the accident.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyMy Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (the authorising Departments) were informed on the afternoon of that day of an event that had led to a slight over-emptying of a discharge tank. Checks by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food confirmed the view of British Nuclear Fuels that the event had not led to any breach of discharge limits or radiological consequences. A462W press release was issued by British Nuclear Fuels later that afternoon, and full details were also included in the site's regular newsletter, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.