THE British government鈥檚 Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in
the Environment (COMARE) is re-examining the cluster of childhood leukaemias
around the Dounreay nuclear plant in Scotland. Since the committee鈥檚 first
report on the issue in 1988, there have been a series of revelations about
radioactive pollution from the plant (This Week, 12 October, p 7).
Two weeks ago, The Scotsman newspaper reported that since 1974,
Dounreay had experienced 10 incidents of radioactive pollution which could cause
鈥渁ctual or probable death or serious physical impairment鈥�. A recent BBC Scotland
documentary also revealed details about the dispersal of radioactive
contamination from an explosion in a waste shaft on the site in 1977.
The chairman of COMARE, Bryn Bridges, says the committee is trying to find
the source of radioactive particles that are continually being found on the
Dounreay foreshore.
Advertisement