asked the Minister for Industry and Energy if the level of radioactivity in the Irish Sea has increased since the Windscale reprocessing plant at Sellafield, England, came into operation.
Written Answers. - Irish Sea Radioactivity.
257.
The level of radioactivity in the Irish Sea has increased since the Windscale plant at Sellafield, Cumbria, England, came into operation but I am informed that the discharges from it are of a low level of radioactivity and are controlled within limits laid down by the UK authorities, namely the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of the Environment. In addition, they conform with the various safety standards laid down by the relevant international bodies. I am informed by the board that the doses to people living in Ireland as a result of these discharges are negligible.
I am advised by the Nuclear Energy Board that there has been a reduction in discharge levels from Sellafield in recent years and it is expected that with the construction of a new effluent treatment plant scheduled to come into operation next year these levels will be reduced still further.