§ Mr. CarrTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that the population groups most at risk from the BNFL Springfields works are correctly identified; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryWe review regularly our assessment of the population groups exposed to the highest radiation doses from BN FL's Springfields works. These assessments show that houseboat dwellers on the Ribble are subject to the highest dose. Anglers who use river banks near Preston incur a somewhat lower dose. The exposure time of children playing on river banks and beds is much less than these two groups and the dose over a year is accordingly smaller. Even for the houseboat dwellers, the maximum predicted dose under the terms of the new authorisation for Springfields will be less than one fifth of the internationally recognised limit and a small proportion of the dose to the public from natural background radioactivity.