§ Mr. Skeetasked the Minister of State for Defence whether iodine 131 in a radioactive cloud will affect the quality of milk or the consumers thereof at a point of some 2,000 miles from the point of a nuclear explosion made above ground.
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§ Mrs. FennerI have been asked to reply.
Iodine 131 arising from an atmospheric nuclear explosion will be detectable in milk 2,000 miles from the point of detonation for a limited time. It is unlikely that the amounts present at this distance will affect the quality of the milk or its suitability for human consumption.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Minister of State for Defence within what distance from the point of a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere iodine 131 will affect the quality of milk such that it is detrimental for human consumption.
§ Mrs. FennerI have been asked to reply.
Milk contamination by iodine 131 following a nuclear explosion above ground will be affected by many factors including the physical parameters of the explosion, the meteorological conditions at the time and the characteristics of the pastures subject to fall-out. Previous experience of such nuclear tests indicates that iodine 131 can be detected in milk produced from pastures at large distances from the detonation. Although fall-out criteria from a single detonation have not been studied in extenso in respect of milk, the Medical Research Council reviewed in 1964 and 1966 the risks associated with iodine 131 in milk in the United Kingdom following periods of large-scale nuclear weapon testing.
It would appear that the risks from a single detonation in the atmosphere would be small in comparison with those assessed following these periods of nuclear explosions.