Pergamon Ann. Nucl. Energy Vol. 22, No. 5, p. I, 1995

Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE NRPB

RADIATION DOSES TO THE PUBLIC NEAR THE CUMBRIAN COAST

A study published today concludes that current and likely future radiation doses to the public living near or visiting the Cumbrian coast are well within current dose limits for the exposure pathways consideredt. The study, undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board and part-funded by HM Inspeetorate of Pollution, highlights areas of uncertainty in the dose estimates and makes recommendations for future research.

The study is confined to exposure pathways resulting from the occupancy and use of the terrestrial environment. The influence of liquid discharges on these pathways is taken into account. However, doses from consumption of marine foodstuffs were outside the scope of this study.

For the purposes of this study the Cumbrian area was divided into six different regions and radiation doses for each of these are estimated for adults, children and infants, taking account of whether they were residents or visitors. Similar dose estimates are also made for 13 major towns in the area. Estimates are made of current radiation doses together with an assessment of how these may change over the next 200 years. The evaluation of future doses is based on three illustrative scenarios for future operations at the Sellafield plant; possible changes in the geography of the area over the next two centuries are also considered.

As expected, the highest average individual doses are received by those living closest to the Seilafield plant. However, in all cases the doses are a small fraction of the dose limit specified by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The general trend is for future doses to decline.

Further information: NRPB Press Office.

$ NRPB-R267 Assessment of the Present and Future Implications of Radioactive Contamination of the Irish Sea Coastal Region of Cumbria, by B. T. Wilkins et al. HMSO, London, £20.00; ISBN 0-85951-372-6.