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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what liaison took place between the United Kingdom regulatory bodies and the Radiation Protection Institute for Ireland in the production of the report on radioactivity in food and the environment, RIFE 8; when she received the most recent...

Asked by

Llew Smith (Labour)

Answering body

Department of Health

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

3 November 2003

For answer on

17 November 2003

Answered on

17 November 2003

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what liaison took place between the United Kingdom regulatory bodies and the Radiation Protection Institute for Ireland in the production of the report on radioactivity in food and the environment, RIFE 8; [136721] (2) when she received the most recent annual report on radioactivity in food and the environment from the regulatory agencies; how members of the public may obtain this report; and if she will make a statement on the key findings of the RIFE 8 report. [136722] Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply. The Radioactivity in Food and the Environment report (RIFE 8) contains full details of the monitoring of radioactivity in food and the environment undertaken by the Food Standards Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Environment Agency and the Environment and Heritage Service for Northern Ireland in 2002. The report shows that in 2002 radiation doses to the UK public as a result of man-made radioactive discharges to the environment were well below national and international limits. The report was published on 29 October and is available in the Library. The report was also sent to the Radiation Protection Institute for Ireland (RPII) and its findings will be discussed at the next biannual meeting of the UK Ireland Contact Group on Radioactivity Matters attended by the RPII and the UK regulatory bodies. Members of the public may obtain a hardback copy of the report (or an electronic version on CD) by writing to the Food Standards Agency at Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH. The report is free. Copies of the report may also be downloaded from the website of the Food Standards Agency at www. food.gov.uk

Date

17 November 2003

Reference

413 c636-7W;413 c636W; 136721;136722

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Defence

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to what type of radiation (a) submariners and (b) radiation workers are exposed when they leave radiation-controlled areas on board submarines.

Asked by

Peter Duncan (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Defence

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

11 November 2003

Reference

137697; 413 c183W

House

House of Commons

Dept of Health

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to receive the Food Standards Agency report on Radioactivity in Food and the Environment, 2002. - Report in Library Dep 03/2273). - Includes fact that published the report on 29 October 2003, copy in Library.

Asked by

David Chaytor (Labour)

Answering body

Department of Health

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

3 November 2003

Reference

412 c502W;412 c509-10W; 134073

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the Department's role in the monitoring of releases of radioactivity. - Includes ref to 'Radioactivity in the Environment'.

Asked by

Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

14 July 2003

For answer on

1 September 2003

Answered on

1 September 2003

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Department's role in the monitoring of releases of radioactivity. [126359] Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency, which is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra, authorises releases of radioactivity to the environment from nuclear licensed sites and non-nuclear premises in England and Wales. Authorisations specify limits on the amounts of radioactivity that may be discharged. The Environment Agency requires nuclear site operators to carry out monitoring of their own discharges and of the environment in the vicinity of their sites, to demonstrate the effectiveness of these controls. The Environment Agency also commissions independent check sampling of authorised discharges and conducts a comprehensive programme to monitor radioactivity in the environment resulting from such discharges. Results have been published annually by the Environment Agency in its report "Radioactivity in the Environment", copies of which are in the Library. From 2003, the results will be published in "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment" (RIFE), which will be a joint publication between the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Department of Environment, Northern Ireland and the Food Standards Agency. Defra co-ordinates the monitoring of radioactivity in air, rainwater and drinking water at locations throughout the UK and submits the results to the European Commission in compliance with Articles 35 and 36 of the Euratom Treaty. The results are included in "Radioactivity in the Environment" and will be included in RIFE from 2003. The Food Standards Agency carries out its own extensive programme of monitoring radioactivity, to ensure that discharges do not adversely affect food safety, and it submits data to the Commission on radioactivity in dairy milk and a typical mixed diet. The Food Standards Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have jointly published their monitoring results annually in RIFE, copies of which are in the Library. Defra is also responsible for operation and maintenance of the Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET) which is designed to detect radioactivity released as a result of an accident outside the UK. RIMNET continuously monitors gamma radiation at 93 locations throughout the UK and raises an alert if pre-set levels are exceeded. The great majority of radioactivity in the environment arises from natural sources, such as the release of radon gas from the ground. Radon can accumulate in buildings and may contaminate private water supplies in some areas of the UK. Defra conducts an ongoing measurement programme of radon in homes and has carried out research in partnership with West Devon borough council into the levels of radon in drinking water from private boreholes and wells.

Date

1 September 2003

Reference

126359; 409 c851-2W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the environmental impacts of (a) storage of all AGR nuclear fuel and (b) continuation with current reprocessing contracts with BNFL for each of British Energy's advanced gas-cooled reactors. - Including figures.

Asked by

Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

15 January 2003

For answer on

17 June 2003

Answered on

17 June 2003

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the environmental impacts of (a) storage of all AGR nuclear fuel and (b) continuation with current reprocessing contracts with BNFL for each of British Energy's advanced gas-cooled reactors. [91921] Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply. No separate assessment has been made of environmental impacts from the storage or reprocessing of spent AGR fuel. AGR fuel is reprocessed at the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield. The Environment Agency, on the basis of the National Radiological Protection Board model, estimates that the operation of THORP, when dealing with any type of spent fuel, contributes a maximum of 11 microsieverts a year to the radiation dose received by the Sellafield critical group (those people potentially most exposed to discharges from Sellafield). This may be compared to the annual UK dose limit for man-made radioactivity of 1000 microsieverts. The estimated critical group doses for Sellafield as a whole at the Agency's proposed new discharge limits, including THORP, are 92 microsieverts for aerial discharges and 190 microsieverts for liquid discharges. Thus, for Sellafield as a whole, the maximum dose to a member of a critical group would be less than 20 per cent. of what would be acceptable under European limits. The THORP contribution is just over 1 per cent. of that limit. The models used in calculating radiation doses are kept under continuous review, and those to do with inhaled and ingested radiation are currently being considered by the Committee Examining Radiation Risk of Internal Emitters (CERRIE). CERRIE is expected to report by the end of the year.

Date

17 June 2003

Reference

91921; 407 c136W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements are in place for the protection of the Isle of Wight in the event of an attack on the Cap Le Hague nuclear reactor in France. - Inc fact that in the event of any overseas nuclear incident...

Asked by

Andrew Turner (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

10 March 2003

For answer on

18 March 2003

Answered on

18 March 2003

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place for the protection of the Isle of Wight in the event of an attack on the Cap Le Hague nuclear reactor in France. [102839] Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply. In the event of any overseas nuclear incident (arising from an accident or a deliberate act) the Government's National Response Plan for Overseas Nuclear Accidents and RIMNET would be activated. A copy of this plan is available in the Library. The UK Government would expect to receive notification of such an incident via the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Commission Urgent Radiological Information Exchange (ECURIE), bilateral agreements between Governments for exchange of information (France, Denmark, Holland, Norway and Russia are signatories) or an alert from one or more of the 93 gamma dose rate monitoring sites that comprise the UK's national radiation monitoring network (RIMNET). An assessment of the likely impact of any release of radioactivity on the UK would be made immediately using all available information together with dispersion prediction modelling provided by the Meteorological Office. Using global weather information the current and forecast meteorological scenario would provide early estimates of the trajectory and the time of impact in the UK. This information when combined with environmental monitoring will allow the Government to assess projected levels of contamination and likely coverage. A Technical Co-ordination Centre would be set up in the purpose-built Defra emergency room in London, from where a team of officials experienced in dealing with emergencies would co-ordinate the response to the incident. Public information and advice based on this information would be prepared and distributed from the Technical Co-ordination Centre to all the authorities and organisations with responsibilities for protecting the public and the environment including those on the Isle of Wight if the island was likely to be affected.

Date

18 March 2003

Reference

102839; 401 c701W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been conducted (a) by and (b) for her Department on the effectiveness of RIMNET3; and if she will place copies of such research in the Library. - Inc ref to 20 January 2003, 398 c105W...

Asked by

Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

24 February 2003

Reference

93273; 400 c96W;400 c91W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research has been conducted by or for her Department on the effectiveness of RIMNET3; what role her Department has in the maintenance and running of RIMNET3; and what changes have taken place and are planned to this...

Asked by

Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

20 January 2003

Reference

398 c105W;398 c106W; 90229;90228

House

House of Commons

Librarians' tools

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

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