§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what environmental monitoring his Department's radiobiology laboratories have conducted at the Hurd Deep site off Alderney; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy for monitoring and compiling data on the disposal of toxic waste at sea. [1434]
§ Mr. MorleyMAFF has carried out monitoring for radioactivity in marine materials from around the Channel Islands since 1965, and from around the Hurd Deep itself since 1989. Materials sampled include fish, shellfish, seaweed, sediments and seawater. Results of this monitoring are compiled and published annually along with other result's of MAFF's programme for monitoring levels of radioactivity in the marine environment around the UK. Copies of these publications are placed in the Library of the House. The results show that man-made radioactivity around the Channel Islands is detectable but that levels are very low and give no cause for concern.
The Department also carries out an extensive programme of monitoring and research related to non-radioactive contaminants and the effects of disposal of waste at sea. The dumping of toxic waste at sea is not permitted.
§ Mr. SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the disposal of intermediate level radioactive waste arising from the UK Atomic Energy Authority's Research programme at the Hurd Deep. [1438]
§ Mr. MorleyBetween 1950 and 1963, around 15,720 tonnes of radioactive waste was disposed of in the Hurd Deep. Most of this material originated from the UKAEA facility at Harwell, and it contained, in total, around 14.6 TBq of alpha activity and 47.0 TBq of beta and gamma activity. All of this waste was categorised at the time as low level. It is possible that very small amounts of waste which today would be regarded as intermediate level were included, but the overall levels of radioactivity in the material are low. Exposure of Channel Islanders to man-made radiation is less than 3 per cent. of the 105W recommended limit for members of the public, and is only a tiny fraction of the radiation dose received from natural sources.