Previously confidential government files have been released which show that between 1977 and 1982 radioactive waste was secretly disposed of in Belfast and Londonderry.
According to the documents, controlled burials of hospital and university waste with a short half-life were undertaken, but it appears very few knew about it.
The total activity disposed of at the site in Belfast, at Duncrue Street, was approximately 180 millicuries, a large amount of which consisted of radioactive iodine with a half-life of less than two months. At Culmore Point in Derry, two consignments of hospital waste had been disposed of with a total activity of around 170 microcuries.
The Environment Minister for Northern Ireland, Mark Durkan, said that he had no idea about the waste and said an investigation would now be launched. Mr Durkan said, "I have already instructed the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to carry out a full investigation of the sites mentioned in these papers to ascertain as to whether or not there is any risk posed, but I also want a historic check done as to what information, if any, was given to local authorities at that time to allow them to monitor the sites, indeed to ensure that they were safe and there was no risk to health and most importantly, that there is no risk to health."
