Radioactive technetium discharged into the Irish Sea by the Sellafield
nuclear plant in Cumbria has reached Norway in significant quantities, according
to a report by the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority.
NRPA scientists have found that levels of technetium-99 in Norwegian coastal
waters have risen 16-fold since 1991. The radionuclide has a half-life of 213
000 years, and so will persist for thousands of generations. Discharges of
technetium-99 from Sellafield into the Irish Sea soared from under 10
terabecquerels in 1993 to over 180 terabecquerels in 1995.
