A clean set of eels for Amersham Nycomed plant
15 Jan 2000
Radioactive tritium in the sediments of the River Taff does not constitute a health threat to humans using the river - or eating the eels living in it, according to the Welsh branch of the Environment Agency. The tritium came from the Nycomed Amersham pharmaceuticals plant at Whitchurch, near Cardiff, where it is used to produce radioactive isotopes for life sciences research.
The levels of tritium in the river were higher than expected, says Alun James, radioactive substances regulations manager for the EA. However, there is no cause for alarm, he says. `The radiation dose from eating 10kg of eel per year would be very low - less than 1 per cent of the government's dose limit.' Meanwhile, he stressed, Nycomed Amersham's radioactive discharges are to be the subject of a four-yearly review, with the next check scheduled for May.
