“We traced it across the North Sea, and around Scotland almost all the way to Sellafield,” said Per Strand. He was talking about technetium- 99, a radioactive element only produced as a nuclear by-product.
Dr Strand said technetium levels were not an immediate danger but marine life, including shellfish that humans eat, accumulate the material and could have higher concentrations. The increase in wine consumption is coming from the whole society.”. British Nuclear Fuels risks international odium again after Norwegian scientists said they had detected a big increase in radioactive discharges off their coast, and traced it 500 miles back to Cumbria. It is down to the variety of what is available in shops, particularly in supermarkets People want quality It is no longer for better-off people only.

These wines are more accessible to people than French wines.”A spokeswoman for Waitrose said: “The sale of wine is increasing, and people are more knowledgeable about wine. This is mainly due to the advent of New World wine producers such as Australia, Chile, South Africa, US and others which offer good quality and reliable wine at competitive prices. The introduction of informative leaflets and the use of labels to identify the characteristics of wines have helped educate the public about wine.”We sell more red wine than medium sweet white wine nowadays. Our sales are roughly 55 per cent of red wine against 45 per cent for dry white wine,” he said.”Our customers have certainly more awareness about wine.

Sales of red and rose wines have expanded by 53 per cent since 1992 and by 2001 they will account for 55 per cent of the market.A spokesman from Sainsbury confirms the supermarket chain’s customers are increasingly choosy about their wine. Traditional beer drinking countries such as the UK and Germany have been increasing their consumption of wine while, conversely, those countries where wine has been the main drink, such as France and Italy, have been turning towards beer.In recent years, the reds and roses have overtaken the whites in popularity. “I’ve read books because I want to have a bit of understanding but at the end of the day there’s no substitute for trying the stuff,” he said.The UK trend for more wine drinking is part of a general increase in the world market towards alcoholic drinks. Those who enter this age group in future will have a greater awareness about wine than previous generations and are expected to be more enthusiastic wine consumers.Nick Taylor-Stoddard, a 32-year-old City moneybroker,describes himself as an “enthusiastic amateur”.