§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he expects that the bequerel counts in sheep in the Llyn Vyrnwy and Ysbyty Ifan areas will fall below(a) 1000bq. and (b) 600bq. within the next 30 years; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Peter WalkerMonitoring of sheep from the north Wales restricted areas during 1987 indicated that some 86 per cent. already had readings below 1,000 bq/kg which is the action level the Government have adopted. Research work is under way on the recycling of caesium from peat soils into different types of pasture and this should enable an estimate to be made of how long restrictions on the movement and slaughter of sheep will be necessary. It does not follow that because the half life of caesium 137 is 30 years, restrictions will be necessary for anything like that long.