asked the Minister for Energy if he will commision an independent body of Irish scientists to study and monitor all aspects of radiation exposure to the public.
570.
Written Answers. - Radiation Exposure.
569.
asked the Minister for Energy if he will make a statement on the level and effect of pollution in the Irish Sea from radioactive effluent.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 569 and 570 together. The main source of the level of radioactivity in the Irish Sea is the discharge of radioactive effluent from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, Cumbria, England. While scientific evidence, available to date, does not indicate adverse effects to the Irish public my view and the view of the Irish Government is that the discharge operations at Sellafield should be discontinued as soon as possible in view of the possible long-term effects of such radioactive waste disposal. This view has been made known to the UK authorities, in particular on the occasion of the Tánaiste's visit to London, last February to meet Mr. Patrick Jenkin, UK Secretary of State for the Environment.
Since that date we have been in continual contact with the UK authorities regarding their plans to reduce discharges from Sellafield. Discharges have been reduced annually since 1975 and a significant reduction in the current levels of discharges to the Irish Sea is expected in 1985 when the new effluent treatment plant is brought into service. In addition, a major revision of discharge limits is planned and is expected to be carried out in 1985.
The levels of radioactivity in the Irish Sea are continually being monitored by our own Nuclear Energy Board. The programme includes the sampling of analysis of fish (landed in ports such as Clogherhead and Skerries), seaweeds, sediments and seawater. These samples are also analysed independently by our universities.
The most significant route by which exposure of the Irish public could occur from radioactivity, in particular caesium, is through the consumption of fish and shellfish. Caesium is among the radio-nuclides present in the effluents discharged from the Sellafield plant to the Irish Sea but its contribution to radiological risk is small by comparison with other radionuclides such as plutonium which remains in the waters close to Sellafield and does not travel to our coasts.
The results of the Nuclear Energy Board's monitoring programme show that the radiation doses to members of the Irish public, including doses arising from the consumption of fish, are very small and are likely to be less than 1 per cent of the dose limits advised by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and of the European Community basic radiation safety standards. The board's monitoring programme also includes the measurement of radiocativity levels in air and precipitation. The results indicate that the levels of radioactivity continue to be low and there is no evidence to suggest a hazard to the Irish public. A copy of the board's most recent report in this matter has been placed in the Oireachtas Library.
Further studies dealing with the effects of radiation exposure to the Irish public are being carried out by the Department of Health. There are two studies involved. One concerns an investigation into the incidence of Downs Syndrome in the eastern part of this country. The other will examine the incidence of childhood leukaemia in order to establish whether there are any unusual patterns here. This examination is a prelude to considering whether there might be any links between such patterns and the radioactive discharges from the Sellafield plant. I can confirm that my Department will be in regular consultation with the Department of Health and will be informed of all developments in these studies. I suggest that in view of the work being carried out by the Nuclear Energy Board, the universities and the Department of Health in this area, the commissioning of an independent body would only be a duplication of effort.
571.
asked the Minister for Energy if he has been notified by British Nuclear Fuels that a decision has now been taken to cease the dumping of radioactive waste into the Irish Sea at Sellafield; and if the reason for this decision is known.
No decision has been taken, to my knowledge, to cease discharging radioactive waste from Sellafield into the Irish Sea. I do know, following a recent meeting of the Ireland-UK Contact Group on Nuclear Matters, that measures are being taken by the UK authorities to comply more fully with the principle enunciated by the International Commission for Radiological Protection, of reducing discharge levels to "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA), and the UK Department of the Environment intends to submit a paper shortly to the Paris Convention outlining plans to reduce discharges to "ALARA" by using the best available technology.
I have also been advised, following that meeting, that the UK authorities expect discharges from Sellafield to be significantly reduced when the new ion exchange effluent treatment plant (SIXEP) is brought into service which is expected to be commissioned in mid-1985. The UK authorities are also to revise discharge authorisations early in 1985 to provide for more specific and more stringent controls on discharge limits.
At the contact group meeting, we reaffirmed the Government's view that discharges to the Irish Sea should be reduced as quickly as possible to "ALARA" and that they should be discontinued completely as soon as possible.
572.
asked the Minister for Energy the channels of communication which exist to ensure that the Irish authorities are fully and properly informed on all aspects of radioactive waste discharge from Sellafield.
I would like to assure you that we are in regular contact with the UK authorities on matters relating to the Sellafield plant. The two most important channels of communication in these matters ar present are the Ireland-UK Contact Group and an Ireland-UK Exchange of Information Agreement on nuclear matters, which is currently under discussion. The former was set up following the Tánaiste's meeting with the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Mr. Patrick Jenkins, in London in February last to provide more formal contact at both technical and administrative levels between the two countries on matters relating to Sellafield which could affect the people of this country, this contact group has since met on two occasions, once in London and once in Dublin; further meetings will be held twice yearly.
There is an existing agreement between the Nuclear Energy Board and the UK Health and Safety Executive on the exchange of information on nuclear matters with regard to the Irish Sea. This forms the basis for the proposed formal Agreement between Ireland and the UK on Exchange of Information on Nuclear Matters. Discussions have taken place at official level between representatives from this country and the UK towards the conclusion of this formal bilateral agreement. Other contacts include meetings between Government Ministers at EC level and contacts with the UK at various international fora, for example meetings of the Paris Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution from land-based sources (1974) and the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Waste and Other Matter (1972).
573.
asked the Minister for Energy if the Government is informed when ships carrying potentially hazardous nuclear waste enter the Irish Sea; if he will give details on the number of such vessels during the past year; and if he will outline the contingency plans there are to deal with radioactivity emanating from a collision, a shipboard fire or sinking.
The Government are not informed when ships carrying nuclear waste enter the Irish Sea and so we are not in a position to give details of the number of such vessels during the past year. However, arrangements have now been made with the UK authorities to provide us with information regarding the transport of spent radioactive fuel through the Irish Sea to and from the UK. This is in the context of the UK-Ireland Contact Group, established following the Tánaiste's visit to the UK Secretary of State, in February, last. For over twenty years the safety standards for the national and international transport of all radioactive materials by all modes of transport have been embodied in regulations recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency of which Ireland and the United Kingdom are members.
In the particular case of international marine transport the regulatory authority is the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Ireland and the UK, like most other maritime nations, have implemented in their domestic legislation the IMO's dangerous goods code which in the case of radioactive cargoes fully reflects the IAEA transport regulations. IAEA standards are essentially directed to ensuring that the safeguards appropriate to the nature and quantity of material are built in to the design of the container to be used irrespective of the mode of transport. The container used for the transport of spent radioactive fuel is specially designed to ensure that no radioactive pollution shall occur in the event that the container sinks to the seabed. The design of these containers is intended to minimise the risk of radioactivity emanating from a collision, a shipboard fire or sinking. In the highly unlikely event of radioactivity emanating from such an accident, and the radioactivity affecting this country, the emergency would be dealt with by all relevant State agencies acting on the advice of the Nuclear Energy Board.