UK urged to publish information on nuclear contamination from Japan

Tuesday, 12 April 2011 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

The government must provide accurate information on nuclear contamination in the UK, the Green party has said.

The party's comments come in the wake of the decision to upgrade the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan to level seven - the same as the Chernobyl disaster.

Officials said the decision to change the plant's nuclear safety level was due to cumulative radiation releases since the earthquake wreaked serious damage to the reactors, rather than a sudden deterioration in conditions.

Penny Kemp, environment spokesperson for the Green Party called on the UK government to provide more accurate information.

"Nobody wants to be alarmist, but people are understandably worried about nuclear contamination. We must be given accurate and up-to-date information," she said.

Ms Kemp pointed to radiation levels in France that could indicate similar contamination in Britain.

"In France, the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety has found iodine-131 in milk," she said.

"Normally, no trace of iodine-131 should be detectable in rainwater or milk. Iodine 131 was a significant contributor to health effects from open-air atomic bomb testing in the 1950s and from the Chernobyl disaster in the 1980s, which is still causing problems in some parts of Wales and the Lake District."

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