§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies his Department has evaluated relating to the level of plutonium in the teeth of children(a) in the Sellafield area and (b) elsewhere in the Untied Kingdom; what were the results of these surveys; and if he will make a statement. [13210]
§ Ms. JowellA study, jointly funded by the Department of Health, the Department of Trade and Industry and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency entitled "Variations in the concentration of plutonium, strontium-90 and total alpha-emitters in human teeth collected within the British Isles" was published in "The Science of the Total Environment 201 (1997) 235–243". Copies of the study have been placed in the Library.
The results of the study suggest that the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant may contribute to the plutonium found in teeth in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. However the levels of plutonium measured were 1,000 times less than other radioactive substances also present in teeth from natural sources. The authors have acknowledged that the levels of plutonium were so low that they present an insignificant risk to health.