HC Deb 01 March 1973 vol 851 cc405-7W
Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether gaseous discharges from nuclear plants into the atmosphere or the discharge of low activity wastes into watercourses cause any injury to humans either through isolated emissions or cumulatively over a period of years.

Mr. Emery

No member of the public in this country has suffered injury as the result of gaseous discharges into the atmosphere or the discharge of low activity wastes into watercourses. The authorised disposal of nuclear wastes by such means is of course strictly controlled under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 in accordance with the principles set out in the White Paper "The Control of Radioactive Wastes". Cmnd. 884.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, though gaseous discharges from nuclear plants into the atmopshere may be subject to dilution, whether there is any danger to humans within a distance of under one mile from nuclear facilities.

Mr. Emery

Any health hazard to human beings from gaseous discharges from nuclear plants must be assessed having regard to the type and quantity of the discharge. The greater the distance from the point of discharge the greater the dilution. Accordingly special attention is always paid to the siting of a nuclear installation and to existing and future development in the immediate vicinity.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken to prevent damage from accidental emissions from nuclear facilities; and on how many occasions these have occurred in the post-war era.

Mr. Emery

All operators of nuclear installations are under a statutory obligation to secure that no injury to persons or damage to property arises or results from the radioactive properties of nuclear matter at the installation or from the emission of ionising radiations from the installation.

In the case of sites licensed under the Nuclear Installation Acts, the Secretary of State has a duty to impose such conditions on the licensee as appear to him necessary or desirable in the interests of safety both in normal circumstances or in the event of any accident or emergency on the site. By this means the Department of Trade and Industry maintains close control over the design, construction and operation of the plant, as well as an efficient system for detecting and recording the presence of ionising radiations emitted from anything on the site or from anything discharged on or from the site.

Although Government Departments and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority do not need a licence under the Act, similar steps are taken and controls exercised in the interests of safety. Since 1960 licensees of nuclear sites have been required to report any occurrence involving the emission of ionising radiations or the release of radioactive or toxic substances in such circumstances as to cause or be likely to cause the death of or serious injury to the health of persons on or outside the site at the time of the occurrence. No such occurrences have been confirmed. Minor releases are known to have taken place from time to time but apart from the incident at Windscale in 1957 there has been no significant emission of radioactivity.