§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware of any recently produced reports by the French nuclear authorities indicating the potential dangers posed to agriculture in France and the United Kingdom arising from an accident at nuclear power stations located on the channel coast in northern France.
§ Mr. CurryI understand that an annual report produced recently by the head of Electricité de France's general inspectorate for nuclear safety presented an overview of nuclear safety within the company as at the end of 1989. I am not aware that it indicates any new or increased threat to agriculture in France and the United Kingdom.
Under an existing bilateral agreement, signed in July 1983, we would be notified immediately of a serious incident involving the release of radioactivity in France. We would also be informed under the terms of both the International Atomic Energy Agency convention on early notification and decision 87/600/Euratom of the European Community Council of Ministers.
Prompt notification of a nuclear incident in France would enable the Department to initiate precautionary monitoring and other action to protect the food chain. We would do this within the framework of the new national response plan established by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, which encompasses the radioactive incident monitoring network (RIMNET).