§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many radioactive particles have been(a) detected and (b) retrieved within (i) a 10 kilometre radius and (ii) a two kilometre radius of Dounreay, broken down in each case by those on (1) the seabed and (2) the foreshore. [160209]
§ Mr. HainSurveys have located 360 particles on the seabed up to a radius of 2 km from the Dounreay site, and 268 have been removed. A further three particles have been detected beyond that distance, up to a maximum of 2.3 km radius, and were all removed.
On the foreshore 221 particles have been detected to date, of which 15 were found on the neighbouring Sandside beach. Only those recovered from Sandside beach were more than 2 km radius from Dounreay. All the particles found on the foreshore and Sandside beach have been retrieved. Full details of the discovery of radioactive particles found on Sandside beach are available from UKAEA's website www.ukaea.org.uk.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has received about the route of radioactive particles from Dounreay to the Caithness shore; and if he will make a statement. [160211]
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§ Mr. HainI understand that UKAEA has undertaken a comprehensive programme of research, at a cost of £1 million per year since 1997, into the routes by which particles may have reached the wider environment. The results have been reported to my officials and to the independent Dounreay Particle Advisory Group. Progress reports are available publicly from UKAEA and I will arrange for them to be made available to the Library of the House. This research has concluded that there is very strong circumstantial evidence that particles were discharged through the now redundant old low level liquid effluent system and other site drains in the 1960s and perhaps into the 1970s. There is no evidence of particles leaving the site after this time.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has received of the number of radioactive particles thought still to be on the seabed within(a) a 10-kilometre radius and (b) a two-kilometre radius of Dounreay. [160210]
§ Mr. HainI have received no estimate of the number of particles thought to be on the seabed within the vicinity of Dounreay. The programme of offshore surveys and research UKAEA has under way is designed to help address this question. This programme has been under way since 1997, and is expected to conclude in 2002. It is not possible to estimate the number of particles on the seabed until the survey programme is complete. I have asked UKAEA to ensure that the results are made publicly available as soon as possible thereafter as part of the public consultation exercise.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce programmes to effect the speedier detection and complete removal of radioactive particles on the foreshore and seabed within a 10-kilometre radius of Dounreay; and if he will make a statement. [160212]
§ Mr. HainThe independent regulator, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), specifies a schedule of local beaches to be monitored, the frequency of surveying and the criteria for the detection of particles. In the case of Sandside Bay the schedule reflects a request in 1998 from the then Secretary of State for Scotland that there is sufficient monitoring to ensure that any particles finding their way to the beach are promptly detected and removed. In March 2001 SEPA published the interim report of the independent Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG). It concluded that for all practical purposes the criteria set by SEPA in terms of detection limits are being met by the current monitoring programme. Surveys of the seabed continue and the results will be brought to DPAG in due course. Further details of DPAG's work are available on the SEPA website www.sepa.org.uk.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has received of the time-scale for rendering the Caithness shore free from irradiated particles from Dounreay; and if he will make a statement. [160213]
§ Mr. HainUKAEA's published programme of future work includes a public consultation on the options for dealing with particles. This is expected to take place during 2003 and will set timescales for a future action plan. In the meantime a monitoring programme agreed776W with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is being carried out, and any particles detected are promptly removed. The public are made aware of particle finds. Full information on particles found on Sandside Beach is available on UKAEA's website www.ukaea.org.uk.