RADIOACTIVE DISCHARGES INTO THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Early day motion 1415, tabled 10 June 1998 by David Chaytor (Labour). Signed by 154 members.

That this House congratulates the Government on its commitment to protecting the seas and marine life but notes with concern revelations that lobsters and seaweed in the Irish Sea and off the Scottish coast are increasingly contaminated by radioactive discharges; notes with alarm that pigeons have been found to be radioactive that they are having to be culled and disposed of as low level radioactive waste and that the sea-bed near Cumbria is classifiable as nuclear waste; notes with interest that Nordic Environment Ministers have written to the Minister for the Environment expressing concern about continuing releases of radioactive substances to the marine environment; further notes the view expressed by the Irish Government that the current situation is totally unacceptable; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to agree at the forthcoming meeting of the OSPAR Convention to continuous reductions in discharges, emissions and losses of radioactive substances, with the ultimate aim of achieving concentrations in the marine environment near background values for naturally occurring substances and close to zero for man-made radioactive substances.

Signatures by party: Labour 95, Liberal Democrat 36, Labour/Co-operative 8, Scottish National Party 6, Plaid Cymru 4, Conservative 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1, Unknown 1.