WRITTEN QUESTION P-2323/97 by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) to the Commission (30 June 1997)

Subject: Radioactive pollution of sea water in France and the Netherlands

1. Is the Commission aware that Greenpeace, in conjunction with the Netherlands Marine Research Institute, (NIOZ) has measursed the radioactivity of sea water near the waste water discharge point of the Cap la Hague nuclear reprocessing plant in France?

2. Is the Commission aware that these measurements show the water in the vicinity of the drainage pipe to be 16 million times more radioactive than normal sea water, that the sea floor sediment is polluted with radioactive substances and that the measuring equipment used by Greenpeace was immediately afterwards removed by divers from Cogema?

3. Is the Commission familiar with the results of the study carried out by NIOZ showing that the level of highly radioactive tritium and caesium per cubic metre of sea water off the Netherlands coast almost tripled over the period 1990-1995, probably as a result of the radioactive discharges from Cap la Hague?

4. Can the Commission investigate whether the French waste discharge permits granted to the Cap la Hague reprocessing plant meet the basic standards for the protection of public health in the Union (Art. 30 of the EURATOM Treaty)? If so, when will it do so?

5. Does the Commission itself propose, now and in future, to carry out independent measurements of radioactive pollution in sea water near Cap la Hague in order to ascertain whether it poses a risk to public health, particularly in France and The Netherlands? If so, when?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (17 July 1997)

1. Yes.

2. The levels of tritium reported by the Netherlands marine research institute (NIOZ) for samples of seawater taken by Greenpeace presumably at the outlet of the reprocessing plant at Cap La Hague are indeed as high as one would expect in the discharged effluent. Levels decrease rapidly as a function of distance from this point. The Commission has no information on radioactivity in sediments in close proximity to the discharge point. The environmental monitoring programme established by the French authorities includes the sampling of sediments in a number of locations along the coast and on the seabed in view of the assessment of possible exposure of the population. The levels at the discharge point are not relevant to any pathway of exposure. The Commission has been informed that apparatus installed by Greenpeace was removed by staff of Cogema - La Hague for reasons of safety, the discharge line being part of the premises under the responsibility of the undertaking.

3. In application of the provisions of Article 36 of the Euratom Treaty, the Commission receives regularly reports on levels of environmental radioactivity in the Netherlands. The latest of such reports prepared by the coordinating committee for measurements in the environment (CCRX) covers 1993. The Commission has requested more recent information from the Dutch authority. These reports contain data on levels of tritium and other radionuclides in different locations in the North Sea along the Dutch coast. While some of the data seem to indicate an increase of the concentration with time, this cannot be reliably correlated to any specific source. The concentrations of tritium in seawater are anyway of no concern from a radiation protection point of view.

4. It is Member States' responsibility to ensure compliance with the basic safety standards. With regard to the discharge authorisations of nuclear facilities, however, the Commission receives information as part of the general data submitted by Member States under the terms of Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty. This submission enables the Commission to determine whether a plan for the disposal of radioactive waste is liable to result in the radioactive contamination of another Member State. The data transmitted under the terms of Article 36 in addition allow the Commission to ascertain compliance with dose limits to members of the public.

5. In July 1996 the Commission carried out a verification of the facilities established at and around the La Hague site for monitoring levels of radioactivity in the environment for that region. This verification, carried out under the terms of Article 35 of the Treaty, did not give rise to specific observations relevant to the question. The Commission considers that this verification sufficiently validates the data provided and the facilities installed for monitoring discharges to the environment. There are no current plans for the Commission to take independent samples for analysis.