§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Health and Safety Executives database on RAM scrap incidents was established; and how many incidents of radioactively contaminated scrap metal have been recorded on the data base. [154227]
§ Mr. MeacherIn 1996 the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), HSE and the Environment Agency jointly established the Ionising Radiations Incident Database (IRID). This is essentially a voluntary notification scheme under which 'non nuclear' industries report, to NRPB, radiological incidents which could involve occupational or public exposure. IRID does not solely include information about scrap metal incidents. The database is operated by NRPB and HSE holds no separate database.
The first IRID report, "IRID—Ionising Radiations Incident Database—First Review of Cases Reported and Operation of the Database", published by NRPB in 1999, ISBN 0 85951 436 6, recorded 10 incidents categorised as "recycling of materials".