§ Andrew MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment has been made of the contamination caused to allotments and home garden food produce in the vicinity of the Cleanaway site at South Ockendon from the fly ash deposited there over the past 20 years, and if she will make a statement; [4861]
(2) what assessment the Environment Agency has made in respect of the fly ash tipped at the Cleanaway site in South Ockendon during the past 20 years of the options of (a) continued burial in its existing deposit and (b) relocation and disposal and if she will make a statement; [4860]
(3) what information the (a) Environment Agency and (b) Health and Safety Executive have collated on the impact and likelihood of fly ash dumped at the Cleanaway South Ockendon site over the past 20 years escaping air borne, from this vicinity to nearby residential areas; and if she will make a statement [4862]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 18 July 2001]: Waste disposal sites operate under the terms of waste management licences and are subject to the controls set out in Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. The purpose of licences is to ensure that waste is disposed of in ways which protect the environment and human health. Failure to comply with a licence condition, or the disposal of waste in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution or harm to human health is a criminal offence.
I understand that the original licence for the South Ockendon landfill site, issued by Essex county council in 1984 allowed consignments of mixed fly ash and bottom ash from the Edmonton municipal waste incinerator to be consigned to the South Ockendon site. The county council deemed the ash to be suitable for such disposal. These licences were completed in 1997.
The Environment Agency, which assumed responsibility for waste management licensing in 1996, advises that the deposit of this mixed ash at the site, in compliance with the licence at that time, ceased in December 1997 as a result of the new licence. The area of the site where ash was deposited takes no further waste and is now capped, and the agency considers that the mixed ash does not represent a significant risk to the environment.
113WThe Environment Agency has a legal duty to inspect all licensed sites and section 42 of the 1990 Act requires the agency to take the steps needed to ensure that (a) the activities authorised by a licence do not cause environmental pollution, harm to human health or serious detriment to local amenities; and (b) the conditions of a licence are complied with. With these requirements in mind, I have now asked the Environment Agency to apply these requirements to deposits of mixed ash deposited at Ockendon prior to 1996.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has examined its records relating to the South Ockendon site for the last 20 years. These do not show any relevant information relating to the impact and likelihood of ash deposited at the site escaping airborne.