HC Deb 16 July 1990 vol 176 cc457-8W
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are considered to be safe levels of iodine 125 in drinking water; and what assessment he has made of the levels of the radioactive isotope in Thames water from Berkshire down to its mouth.

Mr. Trippier

Limits for the levels of iodine 125 in drinking water are recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has a national programme for checking the levels of radioactivity in drinking water sources. This programme includes the sampling of the Thames including the stretch between Berkshire and the mouth of the Thames. The levels of iodine 125 in drinking water from the Thames are trivial and the risk to health is negligible.