§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what use has been made by her Department or consultants to her Department of satellite monitoring of grazing land to assess the degree of persistent radioactive contamination still present from the Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986.
§ Mr. SoamesAs part of a wider research programme this Department has engaged a contractor on a research project which uses global positioning satellite systems to record the grazing behaviour of the most highly contaminated sheep from a flock. The objective is to check whether the technique provides a means of identifying the areas of greatest post-Chernobyl contamination. In the light of the outcome of the project, appropriate means of treating contaminated areas will be considered.