§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the potential risks to the Welsh coast from(a) radioactive discharges from Sellafield and (b) the transport of nuclear materials to and from Sellafield through the Irish Sea. [69602]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesThe Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food monitors a range of food, sediment and biota samples, on behalf of my right hon. Friend, to assess radiation levels and the radiological dose to those sections of the population most exposed on account of their diet or lifestyle. The Environment Agency also carries out monitoring of the radiation levels to assess public exposure from non-food pathways. MAFF and the Agency both publish annual reports on these monitoring programmes.
Government-funded research projects, during the past eight years, have assessed the effects of sea-spray aerosol in North Wales and of exposure to artificial radionuclides on marshland in the Dee Estuary. In addition, my right hon. Friend is currently funding the development of a mobile gamma radiation monitor in North Wales.
The International Maritime Organisation's "Code for the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes in Flasks on board Ships" requires that vessels used to transport nuclear material have high standards of safety. This serves to protect any coastal areas past which they might sail. While on board ship, nuclear material is contained in packages which have been approved by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions as meeting relevant national and international regulations.
Monitoring results confirm that radiation levels on the Welsh coast are a very small fraction of the exposure limits recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.
In future, the monitoring of radiation and assessment of dose levels will be matters for the National Assembly. The regulation of movements by sea will not be transferred to the Assembly.