HC Deb 07 November 2002 vol 392 cc672-3W
Chris Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for Works and Pension, what the maximum permitted levels of radiation exposure are for(a) workers in the nuclear industry and (b) members of the public; and how many times these have been exceeded in each of the last 20 years. [77643]

Mr. Wilson

I have been asked to reply.

The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (IRR99) set the limit on effective dose for radiation exposure of any employee of 18 years and above as 20 millisieverts (mSv) in any calendar year. The limit on effective dose for radiation exposure of any member of the public is 1 millisievert in any calendar year.

IRR99 came into force on 1 January 2000. The previous annual limits were set out in the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1985 (IRR85) that came into force on 1 January 1986, and were 50 millisieverts for employees and 5 millisieverts for members of the public.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not hold details in a readily accessible form of the number of cases where it has been notified that the statutory limits have been exceeded in respect of all nuclear workers. The following data have been drawn from the HSE's national database of occupational exposure to ionising radiation—the Central Index of Dose Information (CIDI).

Year Number Of Cases Greater Than 50mSv Under IRR85
1986 1
1987 2
1988 1
1989 3
1990 1
1991 0
1992 0
1993 0
1994 0
1995 2
1996 1
1997 0
Year Number Of Cases Greater Than 50mSv Under IRR85
1998 0
1999 0
Number of cases greater than 20mSv under IRR99
2000 1
2001 0

The database started in 1986 and its main purpose is to provide a continuous record throughout the lifetime for employees who, at the same time in their working lives, have been designated by their employer(s) as "classified person" under IRR99 or IRR85.