Letter: No small dose

Saturday 17 May 1997 23:02 BST

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Dr Wilkinson of the British Nuclear Industry Forum states that the increase in radioactive discharge that BNFL has applied to release from Sellafield of 0.4 per cent is only the equivalent to the dosage received by spending 45 minutes in an aircraft (Letters, 11 May). From these figures a simple calculation shows that BNFL is already authorised to discharge a dose equivalent to 187.5 hours in the high-flying aeroplane. Quite a lengthy flight - over a week in fact. More the sort of risk an astronaut might take than a member of the fare-paying public.

There is no "safe" level for radioactivity. Any increase carries an increased risk of extra deaths from cancer.

Anthony Cain

Llanberis, Gwynedd

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Letter: No small dose

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