Vol. 480 No. 3
6 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Marine if he has satisfied himself that no future dumping of radioactive material will be carried out in the Irish Sea; and the steps, if any, he will take to guarantee that dumping will not occur. [14000/97]
9 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Marine the representations, if any, he has made to the British authorities regarding the recent disclosure that two tonnes of radioactive material had been dumped in the Irish Sea during the 1950s; if he has sought an explanation from the British authorities on the reason they had previously denied that such dumping took place; if so, the response, if any, received; if he has sought a full inventory of all such materials dumped; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13956/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 9 together.
I have already replied comprehensively to these questions in my earlier reply to Deputy Barrett. I would, again, express my deep concern about the recent revelations of dumping of radioactive material at Beaufort's Dyke during the 1950s. My concern in this regard has been expressed to the UK Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Jack Cunningham, MP, at our meeting on Monday last and I assure the House that I will do my utmost to ensure that the action agreed upon at that meeting will be followed through.
Minister Cunningham has indicated to me that every co-operation will be afforded me and my officials in this matter. He has also assured me that his Department carry out extensive monitoring for radioactivity throughout the Irish Sea, involving regular sampling of sea water, fish, shellfish, seaweed and sediments. He is satisfied that this monitoring would be sensitive to any significant releases of radioactivity from Beaufort's Dyke, none of which have ever been detected.
As mentioned in my earlier reply, I will also be setting up a task force in consultation with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications. This task force will be representative of experts in the fields of radioactivity and the marine environment generally, and will have the aims of providing the best advice to me on how to ensure that the right questions are asked of the UK Authorities, that we can satisfy ourselves that all relevant information is forthcoming and that fully appropriate and commensurate follow-up action is taken. My aim is that the public can have a level of confidence that the issue is getting priority attention, the necessary steps will be taken to protect and maintain the Irish Sea environment in the light of the dumping of this most insidious form of marine pollution, and no such dumping ever takes place in the Irish Sea again.
I, again, avail of this opportunity also to allay any concerns about the possibility of future dumping of radioactive materials. The position is that Ireland and the UK are both parties to the 1972 International London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. In 1993, all contracting parties, with the exception of Russia, agreed to a permanent ban on marine nuclear dumping. Prior to this there had been a moratorium on all such dumping in operation since 1982. I have been given an absolute assurance by Minister Cunningham that nothing untoward has happened since that date.
Since we all know radioactive material has a certain lifespan, has the Minister's English counterpart informed him of the lifespan of the radioactive material dumped by the British authorities?
Some elements of radioactive material have a long lifespan, the ascertainment of which is the objective of the taskforce and the procurement of the information the Radiological Institute is at present obtaining for me. Those were the kinds of essential questions I put to my British counterpart, but even without that information it is necessary to know what has been dumped and where not only in Beaufort Dyke but in any other locations in the region, in addition to the levels recorded in those areas. That monitoring will ascertain just what is taking place or has taken place there.
In addition, there is the danger that some element may be disturbed at some time and there could be a higher discharge of dangerous substances. Constant vigilance must be maintained from that point of view.
Some have a short lifespan.
Yes, that is right, but that is the kind of detail I want to obtain and have quantified, which is the reason I want the report of this taskforce to contain all of that information, enabling us to place it on the table of the House and all Members to see precisely where we stand. Above all other matters this is one in respect of which we want all cards openly laid on the table. We need to establish precisely what occurred in the past and to protect people for the future through constant monitoring and close surveillance.
Comhghairdeas leat ar do phost nua. Before posing two questions to the Minister I would hazard a guess that some of that radioactive material might have a lifespan of between 200,000 and 250,000 years, probably beyond our comprehension, not to mention ——
Our lifespan.
——or indeed that of any particular Government.
Would the Minister agree that the prospect of the recovery of any such material should figure highly on any agenda because if the Beaufort Dyke was also used for the dumping of munitions — some of which can be quite volatile — it is important to pursue it.
Would the Minister include in the remit for dealing with this issue of dumping of nuclear waste the issue of shipments of nuclear waste and nuclear submarines in the Irish Sea particularly given its contained nature? Since prevention is better than cure, will the Minister take account of inherent dangers in the shipments of nuclear waste? In the event of an accident, very often such ships become nuclear waste dumped, by accident or design, in our waters.
My responsibility in this area is twofold. First I have clear statutory responsibility for dumping, which is why I became involved in this issue immediately on appointment. The Deputy's question on shipments would probably be more proper to another Department.
Since my second responsibility is for marine life, I will be very concerned to monitor and know precisely what is and has happened. While the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications will be responsible for Sellafield and any discharges from that plant, I am responsible for the ocean floor, the foreshore and other aspects, leading to an obvious need for co-operation between both Departments.
On the matter of dumping of radioactive waste at sea, mine is the leading Department but the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications will co-operate with me, requesting the co-operation of the Radiological Institute with us, all of which is in train.
I raised the matter of recovery of radioactive waste with my British counterpart. The difficulty is that the amount discovered so far has been so small and nobody is sure of its location, Beaufort Dyke being very long, broad and deep. Consequently, one could do more damage attempting to locate it than not, a difficulty of which my British counterpart is very conscious. We would also need to ascertain the feasibility of recovery from any information obtained in the course of searches which might also indicate the locations of any other dumping sites.
While most recent attention in regard to radioactive waste has focused on the Beaufort Dyke area — particularly between Northern Ireland and Scotland — no doubt the Minister is aware, as it has already been admitted by the United Kingdom authorities, that there has been extensive dumping approximately 70 miles north west of Tory Island in my constituency, discussed here already by the Minister's predecessor and me as early as l987. However, the new twist in the story is that radioactive material has been dumped by the British authorities in the Beaufort Dyke and other areas. Can the Minister ascertain whether there has been any radioactive waste dumped north west of Tory Island because there were some indications of munitions and different poisonous gases having been dumped there in concrete drums? Will the Minister request the British authorities to provide an index of locations of dumpings of these radioactive materials, with particular reference to north-west Donegal?
I did ask that question of my British counterpart but, as the Deputy will be aware, that dumping ceased some considerable time ago, first by agreement and then ——
That happened in the l950s in the Clyde bank.
There is a chart available of the sites in the north-east Atlantic where dumping took place in l951 and l953, published in a report, the Holiday report, the relevant section of which I can ascertain for the Deputy if he wishes.
I would appreciate that.
I will send it to him. There are dumping sites some 150 miles offshore, or some such distance out to the west.
Off the British shore?
No, off the Donegal shore into the North Atlantic. But there are other sites approximately 600 miles off the south-west coast of Ireland and many others located further south down toward Spain. I will obtain a copy of that report for the Deputy.
