§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment for how long it is intended that regular monitoring for radioisotopes of barium 140, caesium 134 and 137, iodine 131, ruthenium 103 and tellurium 132 in soil, air, rain and surface water will be continued; and with what regularity sampling analysis will be undertaken.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the National Radiological Protection Board monitor the long-term movements of all radionucleides on a regular basis and the results are published.
§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the derived emergency reference levels used by the National Radiological Protection Board take into account the fact that iodine-131, caesium-137, strontium-90 and other fission products do not normally appear individually in the environment.
§ Mrs. RumboldYes.
§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the levels of strontium-90 in the environment and food at the present time as a result of the Soviet reactor incident.
§ Mrs. RumboldOnly small amounts have been found and levels are radiologically much less significant those of iodine-131 and radiocaesium.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish figures of the incidence and intensity of the level of caesium 137 at the various radioactivity monitoring points for each of the days, or readings taken over the period, since the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI refer the hon. Member to the bulletins issued by my Department and the data collated by the National Radiological Protection Board. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what measurements of radioactivity and allied readings were carried out over the past month by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology on his behalf in Cumbria and nearby areas; what were the results; and what were the results of comparable tests carried out in these areas by other bodies.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNo monitoring of radioactivity from the Chernobyl accident was carried out by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology on behalf of the Department although monitoring was carried out at the initiative of the institute. This included measurements of radioactivity in rainwater, milk and bulked vegetation. Measurement reported to the Department up to 10.00 hours on 15 May 1986 have been included in the collection of monitoring results issued on 15 May. The rainwater and milk measurements are consistent with other measurements in the same area.
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§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what instructions were given on his behalf to officers of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology regarding communicating to the media the results of their monitoring of radioactivity and allied readings.
§ Mr. WaldegraveOfficers of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology were informed of the co-ordination arrangements for the collation and publication of monitoring results which have been provided by my Department. The ITE made its results available to the co-ordination team and those available to DOE by 10.00 hours on 15 May 1986 are included in a collation issued on 15 May. The MAFF assessed the results and concluded that they did not justify any special advice being offered to the public.