§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will establish an independent inquiry into the scientific evidence on dumping of radioactive waste in the Atlantic; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinI have agreed with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and representatives of the Trades Union Congress that an independent review should be undertaken with the following terms of reference
To review the scientific evidence, including the environmental implications, relevant to the safety of disposal of radioactive waste at the designated North Atlantic site; and to make a report to the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the Trades Union Congress".I am glad to be able to announce that Professor Fred Holliday, CBE, vice chancellor of the University of Durham, who is a marine biologist and former chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council, has agreed to chair the review and that the following have agreed to take part:Professor Robert Clark, Professor of Zoology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, editor of the Marine Pollution Bulletin and former member of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution;Professor Brian Funnell, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the university of East Anglia and a member of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee;Mr. Peter Taylor, Director of the Political Ecology Research Group.The report of the review will be published. Pending completion of the review, the Government will not authorise any further sea dumping of radioactive waste.