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21/08/2001
Strangford Lough radiation worries dispelled
A study undertaken by Department of the Environment (DOE) and University College Dublin in Strangford Lough has concluded that radiation levels are so low that there is no cause for public concern.
The two main objectives of the survey were to examine the extent to which the marine environment of Strangford Lough has been affected by artificial radioactivity released from Sellafield and to assess the radiological implications of this contamination to members of the public.
Ken Ledgerwood of DOE’s Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) said: "The report ‘Artificial Radioactivity in Strangford Lough’ is the result of an extensive radioecological survey of Strangford Lough jointly carried out by EHS and the Radiation Physics Research Laboratory of the Department of Experimental Physics, University College Dublin, in September 1997.
"From the study it is clear that traces of radiocaesium, plutonium and americium are still detectable in samples from the Lough despite the considerable reduction in the levels of Sellafield discharges since the mid to late 1970s. However, the Report concludes that the radiation dose resulting from artificial radioactivity in Strangford Lough is of negligible radiological significance."
Mr Ledgerwood added that comparison of the results with previous surveys conclusively demonstrated that caesium concentrations in the Lough had already peaked and were now in steady decline. (MB)
The two main objectives of the survey were to examine the extent to which the marine environment of Strangford Lough has been affected by artificial radioactivity released from Sellafield and to assess the radiological implications of this contamination to members of the public.
Ken Ledgerwood of DOE’s Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) said: "The report ‘Artificial Radioactivity in Strangford Lough’ is the result of an extensive radioecological survey of Strangford Lough jointly carried out by EHS and the Radiation Physics Research Laboratory of the Department of Experimental Physics, University College Dublin, in September 1997.
"From the study it is clear that traces of radiocaesium, plutonium and americium are still detectable in samples from the Lough despite the considerable reduction in the levels of Sellafield discharges since the mid to late 1970s. However, the Report concludes that the radiation dose resulting from artificial radioactivity in Strangford Lough is of negligible radiological significance."
Mr Ledgerwood added that comparison of the results with previous surveys conclusively demonstrated that caesium concentrations in the Lough had already peaked and were now in steady decline. (MB)
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