Re: LLW status according to AP:

["A. Hancock" <a.hancock@s1.cxwms.ac.uk>]

R.Ryder@dl.ac.uk wrote:

> As for the UK, Britain was forced to suspend sea dumping initially by
> a=20
> concerted effort by Greenpeace. They positioned inflatable boats under
> the=20
> barrel ramps and even caught a drum.

*************************************************************

Yes, but London's water authority was continuing to sail barges loaded
with sewage sludge, from the north and south Thames sewerage treatment
works, into the North Sea and dump it there. Although Greenpeace were
probably anti this at the time for other environmental reasons, they
were possibly not aware that this sludge would have contained I-131
residue from thyroid cancer therapies from London's cancer centre's and
teaching hospitals, if some of the published data on this subject is
correct.

I would image though that the activity concentrations involved would
have been orders of magnitudes below the 100 Bq/g definition of
radioactive substance.

To the best of my knowledge, the dumping of London's sewage sludge into
the North Sea ended a few years ago, and is, I think, now incinerated to
produce power.

N.B.    This is a LLW dumping comment and not an attempt to revive the
I-131 issue.

Cheers All

Andy Hancock
Charing Cross Hospital, London UK
a.hancock@cxwms.ac.uk