§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the most recent data on the contamination of farm and horticultural produce following the Chernobyl disaster.
§ Mr. John MacKayMy right hon. and learned Friend is arranging for the information to be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is satisfied with the monitoring of radiation undertaken on behalf of his Department; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AncramA well established programme of monitoring of radiation is carried out on my right hon. and learned Friend's behalf. Nuclear site operators as part of their authorisations carry out discharge and environmental monitoring. Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate carries out check monitoring of the discharges from the sites and their effect on the terrestrial environment. Monitoring of the aquatic environment is carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's directorate of fisheries research on my right hon. and learned Friend's behalf. There are sites in Scotland monitored by AERW, Harwell and the National Radiological Protection Board under their environmental programmes. All these programmes are kept under review.
Following the Chernobyl accident, these ongoing monitoring arrangements were expanded substantially to include a wider range of food products and additional samples over a wider geographical area than normal.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what agencies have conducted radioactive monitoring on behalf of his Department in each year since it assumed responsibility for this function.
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§ Mr. AncramThe directorate of fisheries research laboratory at Lowestoft of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, the National Radiological Protection Board, the South of Scotland Electricity Board nuclear power station at Hunterston, the British Nuclear Fuels plc works at Chapelcross and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority nuclear power development establishment at Dounreay have carried out radioactive monitoring on behalf of my right hon. and learned Friend.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish details of all measurements of radiation taken on behalf of his Department since 2 May giving details of the materials sampled, the location and timing of each sample, and the result of each monitoring.
§ Mr. AncramThe Scottish Develoment Department has continuously made available to the public the monitoring data it has received since the Chernobyl accident and will continue to do so. Arrangements to publish this data in composite form are being made by the Departments responsible. These publications will be placed in the Library in due course.