Written question asked by Andrew George (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 10 January 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 January 2002. It was answered by Michael Meacher (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 January 2002 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the minimum length of time the isotopes deposited west of Land's End in the 1960s and 1970s will remain radioactive. - Including ref to Report of the Independent Review of Disposal of Radioactive Waste in the North East Atlantic, in Library.

Answer: Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the minimum length of time the isotopes deposited west of Land's End in the 1960s and 1970s will remain radioactive. [27190] Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply. Radioactive waste was deposited at several locations in the north-east Atlantic during the 1960s and 1970s. This waste contained many different radioactive isotopes with widely varying rates of decay. For example, plutonium-239 (Pu-239) has a half-life of around 24,000 years, whereas tritium (H-3) has a half-life of 12.3 years. In view of this, it is not possible to make a single estimate of the length of time that the material will remain radioactive. Details of the radionuclides which the material contained are included in the "Report of the Independent Review of Disposal of Radioactive Waste in the North East Atlantic" (HMSO, 1984), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 378 c880W; 27190
Session: 2001-02
Subjects: Coastal areas Cornwall Radioactive waste Radioactivity Seas and oceans Atlantic Ocean Lands End
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk