§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 4 March (WA 114) on nuclear submarines, if monitoring of retired personnel is not undertaken, how the Ministry of Defence can assess long-term effects on the health of personnel from work with radioactive substances. [HL2055]
§ Lord BachThe Ministry of Defence contributes to the national registry of radiation workers database managed by the National Radiological Protection Board. The last study contained 124,743 workers of whom about one-third were MoD radiation workers126WA or former radiation workers. The data are used to undertake epidemiological studies. In its second analysis of the data, published in July 1999, the National Radiological Protection Board concluded that overall death rates among radiation workers are below those in the general population. This is known as the healthy worker effect. The National Radiological Protection Board is intending to undertake the next analysis in 2005–06.