asked the Minister for Energy if he has satisfied himself with the precautions being taken in respect of the dumping of nuclear waste off the south-west coast of Ireland and that such dumping will not lead to any pollution in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Nuclear Waste.
209.
I would refer the Deputy to the reply to a previous Dáil Question given by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 17 July 1979, Dáil Debates, column 2624, outlining the provisions of international conventions and procedures governing the dumping of radioactive waste in international waters.
The dumping site currently used has an average depth of water of 2.8 miles and is in fact about 370 miles south-west of Ireland approximately equidistant from Ireland, Spain, France and Britain.
I am advised by the Nuclear Energy Board that recent detailed environmental and radiological studies have shown that the radioactive material disposed of at the site does not constitute a radiation hazard now or in the future to the population of Ireland or of any of the other countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean.