Dr. ThomasTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to obtain from the French Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique the report recently made public that asserts the sea off Sellafield is more radioactive than the sea near to the French Mururoa nuclear test site; and if he will initiate an investigation into these claims.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonMy Department has a copy of the document prepared by the French Atomic Energy Commission. We understand that the French authorities did not intend to compare the situation at Sellafield unfavourably with that near their test site, and that they agree that there is no foundation for any speculation that the sea off Sellafield presents any risk to the public. Intensive monitoring carried out by my Department shows clearly that marine radioactivity levels resulting from liquid discharges from Sellafield in 1987 were only about one-hundredth of the level during the 1970s and are continuing to be reduced. The radiation dose even to those consumers who eat large quantities of local fish and shellfish remains well within internationally recommended limits.