Windscale effluent in the waters and sediments of the Minch

It is stated that a systematic intrusion of water of high 137Cs content into the North-Eastern North Sea has been reported by the German Hydrographic Office, and it has been confirmed that a stream of water rich in 137Cs from the Windscale works of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority passes northwards through the Hebridean Channel, around the north of Scotland and into the North Sea. A study is here described of the status of this and other radionuclides in this stream, and analyses of samples from a large volume of water and some sediment cores taken from the Minch in May 1976 are reported. The analyses covered 137Cs, 134Cs, 90Sr, 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu and 241Am, and results are discussed. (U.K.)