HL Deb 11 June 1996 vol 572 c162WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How widespread was the contamination of land and groundwater following the Smarden poisoning incident, and what action was taken to monitor those effects.

Lord Lucas

The Kent River Board became the Kent River Authority which was subsumed into the Southern Water Authority, and then since water privatisation in 1989, part of the National Rivers Authority which is now part of the Environment Agency. The Kent River Board assisted with the sampling and testing of water in the vicinity of Smarden. However files recording the outcome of the testing no longer exist and I am therefore unable to provide any details.