THE British government was urged to start an immediate public inquiry yesterday into why officials misled the public for 13 years over the dumping of radioactive waste in the Irish Sea.
The news that up to two tonnes were dumped has caused anger and concern in Ireland. The Government says it has been misled.
The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, said "firm assurances had been given in the past that no radioactive material had been dumped there. He has demanded a full inventory.
There were also calls for "full information" and an independent international investigation. However, radioactivity monitoring by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has not picked up any changes associated with the dumping.
It is expected that a British government minister will reveal the extent of the dumping and details of the "low-level" waste in the Beaufort Dyke in the House of Commons this week. However, officials repeatedly insisted that there was no danger to the public.
The Scottish Office confirmed a report that officials authorised the dumping of waste from private companies, including defence contractor Ferranti, during the 1950s and early 1960s. It is believed the waste was in heavy metal drums encased in concrete.
This disclosure, which contradicts statements made by successive British defence ministers since 1984, was prompted by the "rediscovery" of secret communications between the Scottish Home Office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) during the 1950s.
"This seems to show that a few tonnes of low to intermediate contaminated waste was dumped in Beaufort Dyke in the 1950s. Prior to this information coming to light, successive governments were unaware that any such material was dumped there.
"What we are talking about is a very small quantity of material with low levels of radioactive material," said a Downing Street spokesman.
However, the Scottish National Party and environmental organisations demanded an immediate public inquiry. Mr Alasdair Morgan, the SNP MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, said he was "horrified" and expressed fears as to what other chemicals and gasses might have been dumped.
"Three ferry routes cross the site, it is regularly used by fishing vessels and is close to the gas pipe-line being built between Scotland and Northern Ireland," he said.
He accused successive British governments of behaving in an appalling and irresponsible fashion.
Mr John Large, an independent nuclear consulting engineer, said he was concerned about the levels of radioactive waste, pointing out that the description "low and intermediate" is relevant only to waste stored in controlled conditions on land.
"As soon as you unzip that can underwater it doesn't matter. It is like a leaking tea bag and the up-take would be a slow and gradual process.
"Here you have the risk of radioactivity being taken up by plankton and then by fish, where it ultimately ends up on the landing slab at Grimsby," he added.
Environmentalists also fear that radioactive waste may have been deposited at other hidden dumps around Britain, including one at Rockall, north-west of Donegal, and another near the Channel Islands. British government ministers have stated categorically that this was not the case.
An estimated one million tonnes of bombs, rockets and shells, including 14,000 tonnes of rockets with phosgene poison gas warheads, have been dumped in Beaufort Dyke between the 1920s and 1976.