§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give full details of the research project he has recently commissioned into the environmental effects of mineral workings; who has been awarded the contract in each case; and when he expects the findings to be published.
§ Mr. AtkinsRoy Waller Associates was commissioned last year to review and examine the environmental impacts of surface mineral extraction and how they can be controlled most effectively. This is a broad-based project looking at the major problems of traffic, blasting, noise, dust, visual and landscape effects. The final report will propose a number of steps to ameliorate the environmental impact of mineral working. Areas for further research will also he identified. Publication of the final report is expected in spring 1991.
The findings of a more detailed research project carried out by W. S. Atkins Engineering Sciences Ltd. on "The Control of Noise at Surface Mineral Workings" have recently been published by HMSO and copies are already lodged in the House of Commons Library.