| SPOTLIGHT |
Jon Payne comments on the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment’s (Comare) findings and recommendations in relation to aspects of radiation in the environment.
Radioactive contamination of military sites across the UK could pose a risk to public health, according to a recent report from the 18-member Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (Comare). The report identifies ‘extensive’ radium contamination from World War II at Dalgety Bay in Fife and at 25 other sites across the UK, and condemns the Ministry of Defence’s failure to provide a comprehensive list of other potentially contaminated areas as "unacceptable".
The report is available here.
What is the background to this?
Radiation is a naturally occurring phenomenon, but some activities have given rise to elevated levels in some parts of the country and the Dalgety Bay is one such area. The effects of radiation are well-known and there has been an active monitoring programme in the UK for many years to evaluate the levels to which the public are exposed.
What are the key issues raised in the report?
One of the main issues in the report is the non-availability of information on any work that has been undertaken in identifying sites and identifying any particular routes by which the public could be affected. These are fundamental in order to assess the risks and determine what monitoring or remediation, if any, is required.
Clearly, there are some concerns over the potential for contamination to affect the public, and the report specifically identifies leisure uses such as water sports and ancillary activities. With public spending on leisure activities a vital part of the economy, this issue is one that is of significant interest. The pressure to redevelop former military sites for other uses, such as housing, bring the risk of more substantial exposure to any contaminants that may be present because of the time that people generally spend at home.
What are the consequences? What will happen next?
The report carries a number of recommendations, including monitoring and remediation, but also the release of information to create a UK-wide list of sites that are potentially contaminated. Whether this will occur very much depends on the use to which some of these sites are currently put. It remains to be seen whether there is sufficient parliamentary will for this to occur. It seems likely that recommendations such as additional experimental work on the effects of radiation will be carried out, if not by the government then by other bodies who have an interest in protecting public health.
What should lawyers advising in this area take note of?
The presence of contamination in the environment should be one of concern for a variety of lawyers, particularly those dealing with land acquisition and development. While the report addresses the question of radioactivity, there are a number of other materials that can cause harm that are almost certainly lying dormant on some sites. With legislation such as the Environmental Protection Act 1990 placing responsibilities on landowners for remediation in many cases, there are significant liabilities that exist. Cleaning up contaminated land can be both difficult and expensive because of the treatment and/or disposal that is required.
What are the trends in this area? Do you have any predictions for the future?
The report may well be the tip of the iceberg on the situation with former military establishments around the country. We have in the past dealt with other sites where the precise nature and extent of other forms of contamination has not been known and records have been particularly sparse because of the secrecy that surrounded some activities that were carried out. It is possible that some sites still exist that have contaminants lying dormant that will only become evident if development occurs. The importance of good research before developing in some areas is paramount.
Jon Payne, who previously worked as an environmental health manager in a local authority with responsibility for contaminated land issues, is a solicitor with Horsey Lightly Fynn. He was interviewed by Jane Crinnion.
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