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Tim Farron welcomes news that Chernobyl rules on Cumbrian farmers have finally been lifted, over 25 years after the disaster

by Steve Beasant on 23 March, 2012

Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron has welcomed news that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to remove all post-?Chernobyl controls and associated regulation on sheep farms in the UK.

Twenty-?five years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, controls remain on a relatively small number of sheep farms. The controls were put in place because some radioactive contamination was deposited on some upland areas.

Restrictions were originally placed on farms to prevent sheep with unacceptable levels of radioactivity from entering the food chain. Food safety concerns are now very low and, as a result, restrictions have been removed from the majority of the 9,800UKholdings originally affected.

334 farms in North Wales and eight farms in Cumbria remained under some form of restriction.

Tim Farron has long pressed the government and the FSA to act to end the controls.

Tim Farron commented: “Hill farmers in South Lakeland earn on average between £5,000-£10,000. They don’t need another needlessly bureaucratic obstacle that leaves many of them further out of pocket. So I am delighted that the Food Standards Agency has listened to our concerns and will now be ending the Chernobyl restrictions on Cumbrian farmers.

“When dealing with the long-term effects of a disaster like Chernobyl, it’s vital that the proper safety precautions are taken. But given that the crisis happened over 25 years ago, the removal of his massive imposition on local farmers is long overdue.”

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