§ Mr. Hayhoeasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will list those incidents involving loss of life or injury to persons working on the processing of nuclear waste and fuel at Windscale during the last 10 years.
§ Mr. EadieIn the past 10 years, conventional industrial accidents at Wind-scale have involved four injuries classified as serious: one case of burns, two of electrical burns, and one of eye damage by a metal splinter. As regards injuries involving radioactivity, seven plutonium workers at various times sustained minor contaminated wounds giving rise to some uptake of plutonium. There was an accidental release of radioactive ruthenium into one building in September 1973, when 35 men received some contamination, most slight. A report by the 583W Nuclear Installations Inspectorate—published as Cmnd. 5703—said that no short-term harm was expected to any of these men and that the long-term risk associated with the highest level of internal contamination was estimated to be about one extra chance in 100 of contracing lung cancer; There have been no incidents, whether conventional or nuclear, leading to loss of life.