§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the tarry wastes arising from the production of acetylene gas at Maydown, Co. Londonderry, can be disposed of by incineration; and what research he has commissioned into the substances and chemicals which result when they are subjected to high temperatures.
§ Mr. NeedhamI have not commissioned any research into the effects of incinerating these wastes but relevant work has been carried out elsewhere in the United Kingdom and internationally. Essentially, they are not incinerable without considerable pre-treatment. Official 481W guidance on the topic was published in 1977, in a code of practice entitled "Tarry and distillation wastes and other chemical based residues"—waste management paper No. 13. A copy is in the Library.
A study will commence shortly into the scale and nature of the Tarry waste deposits in the north-west in order to determine the best practicable environmental option for their disposal and, if appropriate, the subsequent decontamination of the land on which they are situated.
Year 1980 Age of mother 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Ards 0 0 0 3 7 5 6 Belfast 1 1 8 23 37 59 56 Castlereagh 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 Down 0 0 1 3 3 7 6 Lisburn 0 0 0 4 4 5 6 North Down 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 Antrim 0 0 1 1 4 7 8 Ballymena 0 0 0 4 3 6 3 Ballymoney 0 1 0 1 4 3 2 Carrickfergus 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 Coleraine 1 0 1 1 6 8 5 Cookstown 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 Lame 0 0 0 1 6 5 0 Magherafelt 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 Moyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Newtownabbey 0 0 1 2 7 11 9 Armagh 0 0 1 1 2 3 2 Banbridge 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Craigavon 0 0 2 1 4 7 13 Dungannon 0 0 1 0 1 3 6 Newry and Mourne 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 Fermanagh 0 0 0 0 4 4 3 Limavady 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 Derry 0 2 1 4 17 23 15 Omagh 0 1 2 2 2 4 3 Strabane 1 0 0 3 3 4 5 Northern Ireland 3 5 25 60 128 174 176 482W
Year 1981 Age of mother 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Ards 0 0 0 0 3 2 6 Belfast 0 1 4 22 51 56 48 Castlereagh 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 Down 0 0 0 2 3 5 7 Lisburn 0 1 1 4 4 6 7 North Down 0 0 0 1 3 8 4 Antrim 0 0 0 1 4 5 11 Ballymena 0 0 2 2 8 7 5 Ballymoney 0 0 0 2 4 2 3 Carrickfergus 0 0 0 1 2 8 4 Coleraine 0 0 0 7 10 12 6 Cookstown 0 1 0 3 3 1 1 Larne 0 0 0 3 3 1 8 Magherafelt 0 0 0 1 4 3 3 Moyle 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 Newtownabbey 0 0 2 10 5 8 8 Armagh 0 0 1 2 1 5 1 Banbridge 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 Craigavon 0 0 0 2 9 15 12 Dungannon 0 1 0 3 3 2 5 Newry and Mourne 0 0 2 4 7 7 7 Fermanagh 0 0 1 1 3 4 5 Limavady 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Derry 0 0 0 6 18 17 23 Omagh 0 0 0 0 2 3 4 Strabane 0 0 0 1 1 4 3 Northern Ireland 0 4 13 83 154 189 189 Should incineration be recommended further research may have to be commissioned to ensure that the full environmental significance of the process is understood.