HC Deb 30 January 2001 vol 362 cc124-6W
Mr. Temple-Morris

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance he has issued about the preferred temperature at which municipal solid waste incinerators are recommended to burn to minimise the harm associated with emissions from such incinerators; and if he will make a statement. [147508]

Mr. Meacher

The following guidance has been issued:

Local Authorities

Processes authorised by Local Authority Environmental Health Departments are regulated by reference to Secretary of State's Process Guidance Note PG 5/4(95) entitled "General Waste Incineration Processes under 1 tonne per hour". It requires that combustion gases shall be maintained at a temperature of 850& C in the presence of 6 per cent. oxygen, for a period of two seconds after the last injection of combustion air

The Environment Agency

The Environment Agency has issued a Technical Guidance Note (S2 5.01) for municipal solid waste incinerators regulated under Part A of the Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991/SI No. 472. This guidance summarises the statutory requirements of the EU directives on municipal waste incineration and the techniques available for incineration. It requires that combustion gases shall be maintained at a temperature of 850& C in the presence of 6 per cent. oxygen, for a period of two seconds after the last injection of combustion air.

It should be noted that these recommendations are linked also to the residence time of exhaust gases within the secondary combustion zone and sufficient turbulence to circulate the gases.

Mr. Temple-Morris

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) under what powers a county council can take a decision about a major waste disposal development before it has completed its public consultation on its overall plan for disposing of waste; [147502]

(2) what guidance he has given to local planning authorities about the extent of consultation a local planning authority is required to undertake in considering the development of municipal solid waste incinerators; and if he will make a statement. [147503]

Mr. Raynsford

Section 54A of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 requires a local planning authority to determine planning applications in accordance with the adopted development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Material considerations can include national and regional planning policy guidance and policies in emerging development plans.

The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 sets out the requirements placed on local planning authorities to consult on planning applications, although the extent of the consultation will depend on the particular circumstances of each case. Guidance on the publicity to be given to planning applications is contained in the Department's Circular 15/92, "Publicity for Planning Applications". This advises that major developments must be publicised through newspaper advertisement and either site notices or neighbour notification. General guidance for waste planning authorities on the consideration of proposals for waste management facilities, including incinerators, is set out in the Department's Planning Policy Guidance Note 10 [PPG10], "Planning and Waste Management".

Mr. Temple-Morris

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment Worcestershire county council is required to carry out before reaching a decision on the development of a municipal solid waste incinerator. [147504]

Mr. Meacher

A planning application will need to be considered on its merits in the light of all material considerations. The principal guidance for planning applications of this kind is contained in Planning Policy Guidance Note 10: Planning and Waste Management (September 1999). Another important consideration is the requirements relating to environmental statements as set out in The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999.

Mr. Temple-Morris

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the research carried out concerning the incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators of soft-tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma clusters, published in theAmerican Journal of Epidemiology in July 2000; and if he will make a statement. [147511]

Yvette Cooper

I have been asked to reply.

The paper by Viel and colleagues examined the spatial distribution of some types of cancer around a French municipal solid waste incinerator from 1980–95. For parts of that period, more soft-tissue sarcomas and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas than expected were found in areas close to the incinerator. The emissions from the incinerator were known to contain far higher concentrations of dioxins, dust and hydrogen chloride than are permitted now, and in 1998 the incinerator was therefore partly closed and partly upgraded. The authors advised that: caution should be exercised before [these cancer] clusters … are ascribed to dioxin released by the … incinerator.

In May 1998, the expert advisory Committee on the Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment concluded that: there are insufficient epidemiological and toxicological data on TCDD [regarded as the most potent dioxin] to conclude a causal link with cancer in humans, but it would be prudent to consider TCDD as a "probable weak human carcinogen".

The Committee's statement "2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Consideration of 1997 IARC monograph" COC/99/S1 may be found on the internet at www.doh.gov.uk/ coc.htm.

The Committee is commencing a review of the implications of the more recent scientific literature on dioxins, including the Viel study, at its meeting in March.

Mr. Temple-Morris

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the research carried out concerning the reported incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators in Great Britain of cancer cases, published in theBritish Journal of Cancer in March 1996; and if he will make a statement. [147510]

Yvette Cooper

I have been asked to reply.

This Government-funded study, undertaken by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit, found a small excess of primary liver cancer near the older generation of municipal solid waste incinerators. The expert advisory Committee on the Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment considered this and follow-up studies and concluded in March 2000 that any potential risk of cancer due to residency near to municipal solid waste incinerators was exceedingly low and probably not measurable by the most modern epidemiological techniques. The Committee agreed that, at the present time, there was no need for any further epidemiological investigations of cancer incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators. The Committee's statement "Cancer incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators in Great Britain" COC/00/S1 may be found on the internet at www.doh.gov.uk/coc.htm.