WRITTEN QUESTION P-2225/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (19 June 1997)

Subject: Radioactive contamination of lobsters caused by the Sellafield nuclear plant

Data from routine monitoring by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, the company which runs Sellafield, has shown that in October 1996 a level of 36,000 Bq/kg (Becquerels per kilogram) of Technetium-99 was found in lobsters off the West Cumbrian Coast.

This level is over twice the level of contamination (17,000 Bq/kg) detected by Britain's Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and due to be published in its annual monitoring report for 1996. According to research, technetium-99 levels in West Cumbrian lobster have more than doubled each year since 1992.

EU standards dictate that foodstuffs with a concentration above 1250 Bq/kg should not be sold to consumers. What action therefore will the Commission be taking as a result of the latest revelations of the radioactive pollution caused by Sellafield?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (31 July 1997)

Council Regulation 3954/87/Euratom ((OJ L 371, 30.12.1987. )) sets out predetermined maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs and feedingstuffs for various groups of radionuclides following a nuclear accident or in any other case of a radiological emergency. The Commission is empowered to bring these levels into force as a precaution, where appropriate and pending further review of the situation. That review will allow the individual nuclides and the extent of dietary contamination to be taken into account in an evaluation of potential public exposure. The current technetium-99 discharges from Sellafield do not constitute an emergency situation and hence the Regulation does not apply.

As stated in the reply to written question E-443/97 by Mrs Pollack ((OJ C 217, 17.7.1997. )), the dose from technetium-99 in 1995, as provided by the British authorities for the most exposed population group (i.e. those found to be consuming the largest quantities of the relevant foodstuffs including lobsters), was less than 0.02 millisievert which represents only a small fraction of the annual dose limit. Values for 1996 have not yet been published. However, whereas Sellafield discharges of technetium increased substantially from 1992 to 1995 with a consequent increase in estimated population exposure, the 1995 discharges were already close to the maximum authorised value.

In estimating annual exposure it is necessary to take account of the average concentrations in foodstuffs over the year, since levels may vary widely from sample to sample depending, for example, on when a sample happens to be taken in relation to the intermittent discharges. This is especially true in the region local to the discharge point. The values of 36000 becquerel per kilogramme and 17000 becquerel per kilogramme in lobster, taken from the site operator's and the authorities' sampling results respectively, reflect individual sample levels and as such are not in themselves indicative of annual exposure. This is clearly demonstrated by the result obtained by the operator for a sample taken at the same location less than one month later, which gave a value of 4400 becquerel per kilogramme. Thus the annual average contamination levels (and hence exposure of the population) in 1996 should not be significantly greater than in 1995.

The Commission attaches great importance to food safety and protection of the consumer. Accordingly, while it does not propose any action in the present situation, the Commission will continue to follow this matter closely, maintaining contact with the United Kingdom authorities in order to ensure not only that the Community population exposure limits are fully respected but also, in keeping with Community legislation, any such exposure remains as low as reasonably achievable within these limits.