§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the exposure to radiation each year which is experienced, respectively, by a person living five miles from a nuclear power station and a person using a colour television set in the family home for four hours a day.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe National Radiological Protection Board advises me that direct exposure from a television set operating four hours a day will be above 5 nanoSieverts per year. There will be no direct radiation exposure five miles away from an operating advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactor and exposure to authorised discharges will be about 1 microsievert per year.
§ Mr. Frank Cookasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all accidents at Sellafield, Windscale, Drigg and associated sites involving release of radiation which have been notified to the Irish Government for the purpose of their monitoring of possible radiological consequences, since 1956; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWith the exception of the Windscale fire of 1957 there have been no accidents at any of these sites which would have necessitated such monitoring. Since 1977 the Irish Government have been furnished by the Health and Safety Executive with regular quarterly statements of incidents at nuclear installations in Britain, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
In addition, my Department has informed the Irish Government of all incidents which have resulted in the release of significant quantities of radioactivity.