§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give an explanation for the delay between 1952 and February 1985 in reporting the release of radioactive iodine 131 from the plutonium reprocessing plant at Windscale.
§ Mr. GoodladOperations at Windscale in 1952 were conducted for defence purposes by the then Ministry of Supply. I am advised by British Nuclear Fuels that the report of this incident, which came to light in February 1985, shows that the levels of radioactive iodine released in the spring and summer of 1952 were such that any health risk would have been small. As regards the reasons why this information was not made public at the lime, I cannot, of course, answer for the actions of a previous Administration.