Seaweed is used to fertilise crops

Western Isles Council is calling for urgent tests to be conducted on seaweed which is used as fertiliser on crops.

It fears the water may have radioactive traces from Sellafield nuclear power station.

International testing has shown contamination from Sellafield nuclear processing plant in Cumbria to be found as far away as Norway.

Scandinavia shares the same tidal chain as Scotland's west coast islands.

Tidal chain

Fears over the cancer-causing chemical Technetium-99 have also been expressed by farmers on the east coast of Ireland.

The Western Isles Council now wants the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to carry out comprehensive tests to reassure the public.

It is calling for tests as soon as possible on water and on the seaweed that is being used on crops such as potatoes.

There are fears potatoes could have been contaminated

Angus Nicholson, chairman of the Western Isles Environmental Services Committee, said: "We are particularly worried about the cumulative affect of contaminated seaweed being used on vegetable plots over many years.

"We want to carry out these tests to put everybody's mind at rest."

Technetium-99 is known to be a by-product of reprocessing nuclear fuel rods and Sellafield is the most likely source of the contamination.