§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate she has made of the cost of updating all waste incinerators in trust hospitals that do not meet the current EC directives on waste incineration;
(2) how many trust hospitals have incinerators that do not meet the up-to-date standards of the EC directives on incineration;
(3) if she will hold talks with the trust authorities on their plans to bring hospital incinerators up to date with current EC directives on incineration; and what progress has been made thus far in that direction.
§ Mr. SackvilleTrusts and other health authorities are responsible for meeting relevant environmental legislation. The Department has issued strategic guidance alerting trusts to the legislation concerning the disposal of clinical waste and outlining the options for meeting it cost effectively.
All trusts and other health authorities have strategies for complying with current EC directives, implemented in the United Kingdom by the 1990 Environmental 313W Protection Act, and progress is being monitored. In 1989, at prevailing prices, the cost of achieving the standards which come into force in 1995 was estimated to be £50 million for the national health service as a whole.
Information on incinerators operated by trust hospitals is not available centrally. All trusts have however reported compliance with the interim standards and 26 trusts have reported compliance with the 1995 standards. Plans being developed involve options such as incineration at plants operated by local authorities or private contractors, including jointly financed schemes.