Plymouth nuclear Dump Information Group wants Plymouth to be the safest port in the world and for its citizens to have confidence that if a nuclear submarine accident ever happened they and their families would be given the best protection.

But the 3-day nuclear accident exercise "Short Sermon 99' conducted in late November only confirms that current emergency planning remains flawed.

The Navy has previously said that if an escape of radioactivity occurred, the radioactive cloud would spread in a narrow arc, in a constant direction. This unlikely assumptions has allowed them to plan for the minimum countermeasures involving the fewest number of residents affected. This minimal approach is reflected in the current plans to only distribute thyroid cancer blocking Potassium Iodate Tablets and/or evacuate those living within the narrow arc. But during Short Sermon 99 the exercise controllers announced a change in wind direction causing Torpoint and SE Cornwall also to face the radiation cloud.

Short Sermon has shown that many more residents could be exposed to radiation than previously admitted and that those living beyond the downwind sector may also be at risk from a change in wind direction. Instead of staying indoors, many may now believe that leaving the area as soon as possible would offer the best protection for themselves and their families. In such an event, current public protection plans would result in chaos.

However, residents on the Plymouth side of the River Tamar who self-evacuate will have no Potassium Iodate Tablets because there is no policy of general pre-distribution. Torpoint residents would have the tablets as their local health authority supports pre-distribution! This double standard can no longer be tolerated in the light of Short Sermon 99. After a lengthy study, the World Health Organisation recently concluded that the benefits of early administration of Potassium Iodate Tablets far outweighs any concerns over side-effects which they say can be ignored. The only reason left for not pre-distributing tablets is cost so how can Plymouth Health Authority value our children less than those in Cornwall?

DIG supports regular training exercises to test disaster planning and encourages measures to prevent any accidents occurring, but when contemplating the unthinkable, serious weaknesses have been exposed that must be addressed. Burying heads in the sand must not be an option.

KEVIN OWEN

Chairman of Plymouth nuclear Dump Information Group.