§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the figure laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency as being the level of radioactivity in milk at which official action is recommended; and to what factors he attributes differences between any of these figures and the relevant figure for the United Kingdom.
§ Mrs. FennerI have been asked to reply.
We are advised by the National Radiological Protection Board that they are not aware of any emergency reference levels published by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The National Radiological Protection Board action levels used by this Department have been derived from recommendations published by the International
373WCommission on Radiological Protection. We have not been officially notified of the levels employed in Denmark and the Netherlands.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what risks to health are posed by natural background radiation; and to what extent this varies in different parts of England.
§ Mr. HayhoeI have been asked to reply.
The risk to health from natural background radiation for the country as whole has been estimated to be in the order of one in 100,000 of developing fatal cancer. As the dose to the public from background radiation outdoors in different parts of the country varies by a factor of approximately 10, in theory the risk will vary by the same amount. In practice however, epidemiological studies have not demonstrated that this occurs.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps have been taken to ensure that the present accepted levels of whole body exposure to radiation are safe; whether there are any plans to reduce them further; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeI have been asked to reply.
The levels are based on recommendations made by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and, as such, have international recognition. In the United Kingdom, the National Radiological Protection Board advises Government on the implementation of the ICRP recommendations, and has endorsed its recommendations in this area. In this regard, the effective dose limit for members of the public has recently been reduced from 5 millisievert to 1 millisievert per annum. There are no plans to reduce the present levels further at present, but both the ICRP and the NRPB review their advice whenever new scientific evidence becomes available.