§ 72. Mr. EVERARDasked the Minister of Health whether any steps are being taken to ensure that the most up-to-date methods of dealing with the effluent of sugar-beet factories are utilised, in view of the damage which has been done in the past by these effluents?
§ Mr. GREENWOODPressure is brought to bear on those managing beet-sugar factories to secure proper methods of purification, and improvements have been effected. Experiments have been conducted in certain works for some time under the auspices of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in co-operation with the industry and, while these experiments are not yet concluded, they give ground for anticipating that a method will be devised which will render possible satisfactory purification at reasonable cost.
§ Mr. EVERARDIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that at Bury St. Edmunds and Yorkshire and in one or two other places, where there are beet-sugar factories, there are in operation already systems of dealing with effluents which are entirely satisfactory, and why cannot that be made standard for the rest of the country?
§ Mr. GREENWOODI have no information about the particular factories to which the hon. Gentleman refers.
§ Mr. EVERARDIf I send the right hon. Gentleman the information, will he look into this question?
§ Mr. GREENWOODCertainly.