Vol. 479 No. 3
3 Mr. E. Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment if, in his capacity as chair of the Government's committee on Sellafield, his attention has been drawn to the discovery of contamination from Sellafield in the Canadian Arctic; and the steps, if any, the Government has taken to enlist the support of the Canadian Government and other affected Governments in order to internationalise the campaign against Sellafield. [13113/97]
I am aware of the report published in the edition of 10 May of the New Scientist which states that new Canadian data indicates that radioactivity from Sellafield has spread through the Arctic Ocean into the waters of northern Canada and that the contamination is greater than that caused by fallout from nuclear weapons testing and radioactivity released during the Chernobyl accident. Data from the study is due to be presented at an international conference on radioactivity in the Arctic which will be held next month. These findings will be assessed by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland to determine their significance in the Irish context. The Government co-operates with other states sharing its position on nuclear safety issues. The case for initiating further co-operative efforts on foot of the Canadian study will be considered in light of the publication of the findings and the detailed assessment by the RPII of the impacts involved.
I join with the Minister in saluting your service to the House, a Cheann Comhairle. You have always been extremely impartial and have given great service to the House in your years as a public representative. I wish you a very happy and fruitful retirement.
Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.
While I understand the Minister is waiting for the conference where the full facts and figures will be published, the people who have carried out the research are making available their findings to whoever wants them. Up to now we have been a lone voice in our opposition to Sellafield and this is an opportunity for us to internationalise the issue. If the emissions are evident in Canadian waters, they are probably also in waters off the United States of America. I understand the Minister wishes to wait, but from speaking to people who carried out the research — the head of that department is in Europe at present and I could not speak to him — they will make available the figures. I hope our bodies are working on those figures so that they can brief the Minister before the conference.
There is greater contamination from Sellafield than from nuclear arms programmes and Chernobyl, although there has been practically no contamination from a similar facility in France. The levels of emissions from Sellafield are alarming. We should question the continued operation of the Sellafield plant. I hope the Minister will press for internationalisation of the issue.
I strongly agree with the Deputy that this issue needs to be internationalised. As Minister for the Environment, I repeatedly raised this matter at the European Council and at the European Conference on the Environment held in Sofia. It is not right to say we are a lone voice on this issue. I have tried to build allies among the latest European Union members. Austria is very concerned about nuclear power plants operating on its borders, particularly within the Czech Republic. This issue is an international one.
I am deeply concerned about the most recent data. It is simply an advanced brief on information to be presented to a conference to be held in Norway next month. Mr. Per Strand of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority reported that the pattern of discharges from Sellafield shows peaks in discharges from Sellafield in 1975, 1977 and 1980. Each of those peaks was replicated four years later in the Barents Sea as the radioactive plume worked its way into northern waters. It is absolutely clear from the limited information available — I have arranged for the Government to be represented at the conference so that we will have the full data first hand — that the impact of Sellafield is not confined to the Irish Sea. I hope to build alliances that will continue to put pressure not only on the operation of Sellafield by British Nuclear Fuels Limited but on the entire British nuclear programme, which continues to pose an unacceptable risk to the health and well-being of the people of Ireland.
We have the support of smaller non-nuclear countries in Europe, but if we had the Canadian and American Governments behind us in this campaign it would strengthen our hand. For example, the involvement of the US in pushing to bring about a resolution in Northern Ireland has been productive. If it was brought to the attention of the Canadian and American public that their waters are being contaminated by a plant in England, there would be a public outcry and pressure would be put on the British Government to resolve the issue. We should use every means at our disposal to bring about the closure of Sellafield.
I agree with the Deputy's remarks. By way of evidence of the ongoing work of the Government in highlighting at every international forum our concern about Sellafield and its impact on Irish coastal and international waters, at a heads of delegation OSPAR Convention meeting which is ongoing in London Ireland has called on the contracting parties to reduce immediately the current discharges of technetium 99 from Sellafield to their pre-1994 discharge levels and ultimately to eliminate them entirely through the urgent development and application of best techniques. We will use the OSPAR Convention and the International Maritime Organisation resolutions to put pressure to bear to reduce the negative impact environmentally of Sellafield.
I look with great interest at this new dimension which shows the potential damage from Sellafield stretches well beyond our understanding of it, the immediate waters surrounding Ireland, the Irish Sea and the North Sea, impacting on Canada and perhaps the United States of America. We will raise these matters bilaterally with those nations and multilaterally at every forum available to us.
