§ Mr. Simon ThomasTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what monitoring his Department undertakes of the levels of depleted uranium in fish and shellfish caught in the Irish Sea. [144984]
§ Ms StuartI have been asked to reply.
Monitoring the radioactive contamination of fish and shellfish caught in the Irish Sea is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency. It does not undertake monitoring for depleted uranium contamination specifically but does monitor levels of total uranium contamination arising from discharges from Sellafield and other sources. This monitoring indicates that levels of uranium in fish and shellfish are only slightly enhanced above that expected from natural background. Detailed results of such monitoring are given in the annual Radioactivity in Food and the Environment report published jointly by the Food Standards Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.