§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply of 12 March, Official Report, column 304, when his Department first initiated tests in Cumbria for a range of radionuclides, including caesium, in the potential human food chain, and other environmental materials.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonSuch tests were initiated by my Department in the early 1950s.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply of 12 March, Official Report, column 304, whether he will state the number of tests his Department carried out for radionuclide levels in Cumbria between May 1985 and May 1986.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonIn Cumbria, during the period 1 May 1985 to 30 April 1986, my Department carried out over 700 tests for radionuclide levels in the agricultural and terrestrial environment and over 1,000 tests for levels in the aquatic environment.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply of 12 March, Official Report, column 304, whether he will list the range of foods and other environmental materials which were being tested for radionuclide levels in Cumbria prior to Chernobyl.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe range of foods and other environmental materials being tested prior to the Chernobyl accident included milk, fruit, vegetables, eggs, honey, cereals, cattle, sheep, rabbits, grass, rootmat, soil, fish, shellfish, seaweed, beach and harbour sediment, fishing gear, seawater and air.