§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes of his Department's procedures he has made following his investigation into the PCB spillage at the 1974 channel tunnel workings at Shakespeare cliff.
§ Mr. ParkinsonMy Department arranged for a full internal investigation into the preparation and supervision of the contract made in 1978 for removing a boring machine from the 1974 channel tunnel workings at Shakespeare cliff and into how officers of the Department and other Departments learnt about and dealt with the spillage of polychlorinated biphenyls from the machine. The investigation revealed shortcomings in the contractual arrangements and in the action taken by the Department between 1979 and 1985 to deal with the spillage.
Although it is exceptional for the Department to be involved in the disposal of specialised machinery of this kind, steps are being taken to strengthen the Department's procedures to remove the risk of such shortcomings being repeated. Officers concerned with contracts involving purchase or disposals involving hazardous chemicals are being cautioned on the need to vet the suitability of contractors from that standpoint and to ensure that terms of contracts provide safeguards against accidents or mishandling. The Department has tightened relevant aspects of its internal personnel supervision, reporting and training procedures.
Type 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 MG 871 802 735 657 576 468 452 473 Number of accidents 19 23 27 27 23 17 12 10 Number of fatalities — — — — 3 — — 1 MCB 432 423 403 394 363 338 326 321 Number of accidents — — 1 2 1 1 — — Number of fatalities — — 1 — — — — — MCB/CCTV 168 184 194 201 220 228 251 258 Number of accidents 1 1 — — — 1 2 3 Number of fatalities — — — — — — — — AHB 250 255 267 280 291 315 323 357 Number of accidents 10 4 6 6 9 9 3 4 Number of fatalities 2 2 2 3 3 5 2 2