Radiation (Hansard, 5 March 1990)

§ Mr. John Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average radiation dose, whole body(a) received by nuclear submarine personnel, (b) reported by the Central Electricity Generating Board nationally and (c) reported by the Central Electricity Generating Board at the Sellafield nuclear power plant, for each of the last 20 years.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
For figures relating to nuclear submarine personnel for the years 1978 to 1988 I refer the hon. Member to my written answers to him of 2 May 1989,Official Report, column 62, and 20 March 1989, Official Report, column 478. The average individual radiation dose in 1989 was 1.69 milliSieverts.
I will ask my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Mr. Baldry) to write to Nuclear Electric Ltd. and British Nuclear Fuels plc, the operators of Sellafield, to obtain the information requested in parts (b) and (c) of the question.
539W

§ Mr. John Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum radiation dose, rounded to the nearest milliSievert, received by any nuclear submariner in one year during the last decade.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
The maximum recorded individual radiation dose to a Royal Navy submariner in any one year during the last 10 years as 50.96 milliSieverts, in 1980.

§ Mr. John Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum total radiation dose received by any nuclear submariner over any period, or number of periods, spent as a classified radiation worker working for the Royal Navy aboard British nuclear submarines; and whether or not such an individual or individuals are still working as classified radiation workers within Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarines.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
Data are readily available only for personnel who have ceased radiation work since 1979.
The maximum total radiation dose recorded for any member of the Royal Navy who ceased radiation work since 1979 is 201.98 milliSieverts. This cumulative radiation dose was accrued over the period September 1969 to October 1987, and is the only example shown on available records of a total cumulative dose in excess of 200 milliSieverts. A further 39 Royal Navy personnel are recorded as having cumulative doses in excess of 100 milliSieverts.

§ Mr. John Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the radiation exposure limit for classified persons set by the Ionising Radiations Regulations for maximum annual dose, cumulative year-on-year dose and total dose over a lifetime.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 state the following. The dose limit for the whole body resulting from exposure to the whole or part of the body, being the sum of the following dose quantities resulting from exposure to ionising radiation, namely the effective dose equivalent from external radiation and the committed effective dose equivalent from that year's intake of radionuclides, shall in any calendar year be:

(a) for employees aged 18 years or over, 50mSV

(b) for trainees aged under 18 years, 15mSV

(c) for any other person. 5mSV

There are no limits on cumulative or total lifetime dose other than those implicit in the annual dose limits.
The regulations also include dose limits for individual organs and tissues, the lens of the eye, the abdomen of a woman of reproductive capacity and the abdomen of a pregnant woman. For details of these I refer the hon. Member to schedule 1, parts II, III, IV and V on pages 35 and 36 of IRR85, issued by Her Majesty's Stationery Office and available in the House of Commons Library.

(a) for employees aged 18 years or over,	50mSV
(b) for trainees aged under 18 years,	15mSV
(c) for any other person.	5mSV