§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what specific steps he is taking to ensure that the levels of thyroid activity in children are monitored, following the Chernobyl incident; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeThere is no medical need for general monitoring of levels of radioactivity in thyroids of children in England following the Chernobyl incident. I am advised that the National Radiological Protection Board has undertaken some limited monitoring of children in the Glasgow area and in Oxfordshire. The radioactivity detected in the children in the Glasgow area was well below the International Commission on Radiological Protection dose limit for members of the public and none was detected in the children in Oxfordshire.
Environmental radiation monitoring data following the Chernobyl incident indicate that the radiation dose to children throughout England would not be higher than that received by the children in Scotland, and in most cases would be much lower.