§ Mr. ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 1997,Official Report, column 562, if HMS Dreadnought's radiation dose levels were recorded prior to or after the defuelling process. [38847]
§ Mr. SpellarThe radiation dose figure given in my answer of 26 November referred to the aggregate radiation dose received by all persons who worked on HMS Dreadnought from 1982 to 1983. This was obtained from measurements of individual doses made throughout the duration of the decommissioning project, which included the defuelling process.
Radiation dose rates on board HMS Dreadnought were measured both before and after the defuelling process. As expected, there was little reduction in the general radiation level following the defuel as the reactor fuel is always heavily shielded.