20 years later

An intriguing answer to a written parliamentary question on Tuesday of this week (here):

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring programmes, resulting from the Chernobyl incident, are still in operation.
(S2W-19794)

Lewis Macdonald: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that monitoring of sheep for radioactivity resulting from the Chernobyl incident in 1986 continues on 11 remaining restricted farms in Scotland. Monitoring is undertaken by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department on behalf of the Food Standards Agency Scotland. Sheep from these farms must be monitored for radioactivity prior to being moved off farm; additionally annual surveys of whole flocks are carried out on selected farms to assess whether they are suitable for derestriction.

After 20 years, we are still monitoring the fall-out from Chernobyl.