§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if his Department has yet located the container of lindane that was washed overboard in the English channel in 1991;[25453]
617W(2) what estimates he has made of when the container of lindane lost overboard in the English channel in 1991 will corrode and release lindane into the sea; and what assessment he has made of the consequences of that release upon fish and marine life. [25454]
§ Mr. BaldryWe are not aware of the loss of a container of lindane in 1991, but a quantity of this insecticide was lost when the vessel MV Perintis sank in the channel on 13 March 1989. Despite considerable618W efforts by the UK and French authorities, location and retrieval of the cargo container in which the lindane was being transported was not possible. The container was believed to be undamaged when it sank which, together with the type of packaging used, indicates that any seepage into the sea would be at a very slow rate. This would rapidly dilute and disperse and not give rise to any food safety or environmental concerns. Water samples are taken from the area each year and these continue to show that concentrations of lindane have remained at background levels.