§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum area and radius which would have to be(a) evacuated and (b) subjected to restrictions in the worst case scenario of a severely ruptured submarine reactor due to collision or other circumstances in the firth of Forth or the firth of Clyde; and what contingency plans have been made.
§ Mr. Hanley[pursuant to his answer, 29 October 1993, c. 802–3]: The answer that I gave the hon. Member on 29 October should have read as follows:
The overall probability of any accident resulting in even a small release is very low indeed. Nevertheless it remains prudent to develop contingency plans to respond to the possibility of an accident which might result in a radioactive hazard. The risk of an accident which would require the application of public protection measures such as shelter, evacuation or taking potassium iodate tablets beyond a distance of 10 km from any accident location is no more likely than about one in one million in any one year, even assuming a reactor is operating continuously at that particular location.