§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what systems are in place to monitor levels of radioactivity in the seas surrounding Northern Ireland and how often such monitoring is carried out. [41891]
§ Mr. MossIn Northern Ireland the Department of the Environment's chief inspector, appointed under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, monitors levels of radioactivity in the Irish sea and the Northern Ireland coastal environment.
The inspectorate arranges for samples of seaweed, sediment, fish, nephrops and winkles to be collected and forwarded for analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's fisheries research laboratory at Lowestoft. Samples are taken quarterly except in the case of sediments, where the frequency is six monthly. The Northern Ireland results are published annually in the MAFF report "Radioactivity in Surface and Coastal Waters of the British Isles" and in the Northern Ireland abstract of statistics.
In addition to this programme the inspectorate monitors the gamma dose rate in air over intertidal sediments in each district council in Northern Ireland with a coastline.