THE Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, last night extended his demands for information from the British government following the release of details about the secret dumping of radioactive material in the Irish Sea.
Full disclosure of all dumping of radioactive waste, "not just related to civil or commercial operations but also that relating to the Ministry of Defence", is being sought.
The demands are spelled out in a letter to the British Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), Mr Jack Cunningham. "The British government has assured us that radiation levels are minimal but we now want our scientists to view the specific findings and results of their sampling from the Beaufort Dyke," Dr Woods added.
On the issue of trust, he said:
"We now want all the cards on the table in the interests of people living on both sides of the Irish Sea."
He was speaking after meeting experts from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the Marine Institute. It took place as the British government released confidential documents confirming the secret operation carried out in the 1950s.
Mr Jeff Rooker, MAFF minister of state, last night expressed regret that MPs had been given inaccurate information on dumping in the past. In a Commons written reply, he said monitoring had shown that the dumping of low- or intermediate-level radioactive waste in the Beaufort Dyke had had "no measurable effect on radioactivity levels".
But in his letter, Dr Woods sought a full inventory of the materials unloaded and "full details of the packaging, location and present state". The Department of the Marine expects a "detailed response" today.
The British government rejected calls for a public inquiry into why successive ministers misled the public for 13 years over the dumping of the two tonnes of radioactive waste in the Irish Sea ammunition dump.
Although officials are trying to ascertain the exact details of what was dumped and the quantities, it is believed the bulk of the waste contains contaminated gloves glass, phosphorous paint used on aircraft dials, clock hands and radioactive scrap metal.
While it did not represent a threat to public safety, Mr Rooker said the area would continually be monitored. An MAFF spokesman confirmed officials were conducting a full search to allay concerns that radioactive waste was secretly dumped near Rockall.
The documents show that universities and companies worked with the War Office and the Scottish Office in the operation. Edinburgh and Glasgow universities dumped radioactive waste four times between 1953 and 1957.
The Atomic Energy Authority had recommended that casing used to dump non- hazardous waste would be sufficient for the low-level radioactive dumping exercise. "An ordinary mild-steel 40-gallon drum suitably weighed with concrete was considered enough for public safety standards, provided that the outside of the drum was free from radioactive contamination.
Further searches of archives were being undertaken urgently, Mr Rooker said.