Monday's Investigation: Radioactive Scotland
On Monday's Morning Extra it's another of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Scotland's Investigations.
I want to hear from you if you live near a radioactive site and you're worried about the health risks.
According to one expert we'll hear on the programme, Scotland has a legacy of radioactive sites that have never been properly dealt with. For example, in 1915 there was a radium works at Balloch on the banks of Loch Lomond which made radium for medical instruments and for aircraft dials. Although demolished in 1927, the informed view amongst the scientific community is that the site is a radioactive mess and needs to be properly decontaminated. Although the local authorities do monitor the site regularly, a recent study of the site found "excessively high radon," confirming that radioactive material hadn't been removed, but "merely capped with an inadequate concrete slab."
Another example in Dalgety Bay, Fife is probably Scotland's most contentious. It used to be a military aircraft site, but when it was demolished it operated a 'bash, burn and bury' policy where aircraft parts and cock pit dials contaminated with luminous paint were broken up and buried. It's now a housing estate and they keep finding radioactive materials there.
And take the site of an old factory works in Wishaw that produced dashboard equipment using radioactive materials. The site hasn't been adequately dealt with and, most worryingly, it's next to a school.
Of course, all these locations were operated at a time when we were unaware of the risks of radiation exposure and when health and safety procedures were less sophisticated. But are they being adequately monitored now? And do these sites really still pose a significant risk to those who live nearby?
Tune in on Monday at 9 to hear Mark Stephen's report.
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