§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the current test burn of Cemfuel at the Castle Cement works, Ribblesdale, is due to end.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe extra monitoring work at Ribblesdale is now complete and the operator is preparing an assessment of the results and the effect of emissions on the environment.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information has so far appeared on the public register in respect of Castle Cement's burning of Cemfuel at its Ribblesdale plant; what further information he expects to appear between the present time and the conclusion of the test burn of Cemfuel; and what assessment Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has made of the quality and quantity of such information.
§ Mr. AtkinsAll information prior to the protocol of June 1994 is on the public registers. Monitoring trials conducted under the protocol were supervised by HMIP and the final report of these, along with the assessment of environmental effects, is expected at the end of 1994. HMIP is assessing these results.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measurements of total organic carbon have been taken in the emissions from Castle Cement's kilns when they are burning Cemfuel.
§ Mr. AtkinsMeasurement of total organic carbon has been part of all tests carried out.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measurements of total organic carbon in the emissions from Castle Cement's kilns when they are burning Cemfuel have been made during electrostatic precipitator trips caused by high levels of carbon monoxide.
§ Mr. AtkinsElectrostatic trips are few and far between and last only for a matter of minutes. No total organic carbon measurements have been taken in these periods.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has drawn from the information placed on the public register in relation to the burning of hazardous waste at Ribblesdale.
§ Mr AtkinsHer Majesty's inspectorate of pollution's preliminary assessment of the results available so far indicates that, compared with coal, the burning of Cemfuel does not have a net adverse environmental effect.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many deliveries of Cemfuel have been made to Castle Cement's works at Ribblesdale; how many inspections have been made of them by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution; and how many have been rejected as a result of failing to meet the specification.
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§ Mr. AtkinsThere have been approximately 1,500 tanker deliveries of Cemfuel to the Ribblesdale site in the last 12 months. The HMIP site inspector has been present and witnessed the unloading operation on numerous occasions. Three loads were rejected in the last 12 months—one load, because the seals on the tanker were not intact, and two, because the paperwork showed fuel of unaccceptable quality.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has been informed by Castle Cement that Cemfuel has proved inferior to its specifications and had therefore been rejected for use; and what action Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution took on each occasion.
§ Mr. AtkinsThree loads were rejected in the last 12 months—one load, because the seals on the tanker were not intact, and two, because the paperwork showed fuel of unacceptable quality.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution proposes to take as a result of the amount of particulate matter in the emissions from Castle Cement's works at Ribblesdale exceeding the authorised limit.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe particulate emissions from all kilns comply with the authorised limits.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether(a) his officials in the directorate of pollution control and wastes and (b) Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution have seen the British Cement Association's code of practice on the use of recycled liquid fuels in the manufacture of cement; and whether they were consulted on its contents before publication.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe British Cement Association's code of practice was issued by the association on its own initiative and it did not consult officials in the Department or in Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution before publishing it. Officials have seen the code.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what analysis Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution had made of the contents of the uncombusted waste materials among emissions from cement kilns where hazardous wastes are being burnt.
§ Mr. AtkinsHer Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has made no measurements of the uncombusted waste materials from the cement kilns, but tests carried out by the company have confirmed a thermal destruction efficiency of almost 100 per cent.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the conditions for the trial burning of hazardous wastes apply equally to all cement kilns at which such waste is being burnt.
§ Mr. AtkinsAll trials authorised after the protocol of June 1994 have to comply with the same requirements.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has reached on whether there is a risk to public health or the environment associated with the emission of uncombusted waste materials as a result of a trip on the operation of a cement kiln when it is burning hazardous waste; and what mechanism exists for measuring the products of incomplete combustion on such occasions.
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§ Mr. AtkinsHer Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is satisfied that there is no risk to public health or the environment associated with uncombusted waste materials as a result of any process trips. Whenever a trip occurs, the supply of Cemfuel to the kiln is automatically stopped and not restarted until normal operating conditions have resumed. The cement materials in the kiln remain hot for several hours, and this ensures the destruction of any remaining waste.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions the plume from any kiln at Ribblesdale has grounded in the last 12 months; how many times operations have been suspended as a result of inadequate emission velocity; and how many occasions members of the public have complained to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution about plume grounding.
§ Mr. AtkinsHer Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has no records of the number of times the plumes from the chimneys at Ribblesdale works have grounded in the last 12 months. Operations have never been suspended as a result of inadequate emission velocity. There have been around 50 complaints about plume grounding by members of the public in the last 12 months, although not all these have been confirmed.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many site visits have been made to Castle Cement's works at Ribblesdale which have been(a) announced and (b) unannounced.
§ Mr. AtkinsThere have been more than 30 visits to the Castle Cement Ribblesdale site in the last 12 months. Of these, four were unannounced.