§ Mr. Gorstasked the Prime Minister if she will list the powers of individual Ministers to take action in cases where radioactive containers and materials and such containers or materials purporting to be radioactive are wilfully or carelessly abandoned in public places; if she will take steps to increase the penalties in such cases; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe police will normally be the first authority to be informed of an incident in a public place. Under the national arrangements for incidents involving radioactivity which covers England, Scotland and Wales, expert advice is quickly available to them when an incident could involve the public being exposed to radioactivity; and each police area has a defined point of contact for that purpose. A similar arrangement exists in Northern Ireland.
The use and disposal of radioactive substances are controlled, throughout the United Kingdom, by the appropriate Ministers and Secretaries of State under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. Any person who disposes of radioactive waste without first having obtained an authorisation under that Act, or otherwise than in accordance with such an authorisation, would be guilty of an offence. Also, any person registered under the Act for the keeping and use of radioactive material would be guilty of an offence if he failed to notify the appropriate Department of the loss or theft of such radioactive material or failed to comply with any other conditions of a registration. Maximum penalties under the 1960 Act can be substantial and are regularly reviewed. Under section 10 of the Act, the Secretary of State would have power to arrange for the safe disposal of radioactive wastes if the need arose.