HC Deb 10 June 2002 vol 386 cc944-7W
Mr. Love

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what(a) gases and (b) emission levels have breached legal limits in each of the last five years from the Edmonton Incinerator; what impact this had on local air quality; and if she will make a statement; [57710]

(2) on which dates in each of the last five years London Waste has been found in breach of legal limits on emissions at its Edmonton incinerator; what penalties were imposed by the Environment Agency in response to each of those breaches; and if she will make a statement. [57708]

Mr. Meacher

The table lists the dates within the last three and a half years on which the Environment Agency has recorded emissions breaching a limit set in the authorisation for the Edmonton incinerator.

The information presented gives the averaged emission over the period of a breach, which may last up to a few hours.

The Environment Agency informs me that files relating to the remainder of the last five years have been lost. However, the remaining files indicate that there were additionally reported breaches on 24 November 1997, 2 December 1997 and 14 April 1998 but no data on the types or levels of emission are available.

In response to the increased number of breaches of the hydrogen chloride limit in 1999, the Agency wrote a strongly worded letter to the operator of the incinerator. In response to this letter the operator instituted a series of actions that has virtually eliminated these breaches.

In response to the increased number of breaches of the carbon monoxide limit in 2001 the Agency issued an enforcement notice requiring the operator to analyse the causes of the breaches and report the results of the analysis to the Agency. The reports show that if there is a loss of waste feed to the incinerator the resulting excess air cools the flame resulting in increased carbon monoxide emissions. The most common causes of a loss of waste feed are failure of the waste feed ram, bulky items blocking the waste feed chute and blockages of the ash removal mechanism. The enforcement notice and the operator's responses are on the Public Register maintained by the Agency which can be viewed at the following address:

  • North East Area Office (Thames Region)
  • Apollo Court
  • 2 Bishops Square Business Park
  • St. Albans Road West
  • Hatfield
  • AL10 9EX.

With regard to the impact of such breaches on local air quality, both the operator and the Agency have carried out dispersion modelling of emissions from the plant. The Agency has modelled emissions from the plant under worst case breach conditions in comparison with current standards. It was concluded that at the highest recorded level of emissions there would not be a breach of an air quality standard.

mg/Nm3
Date Emission Value—average emission Emission limit
22 September 1998 Hydrogen chloride 103 30
22 September 1998 Hydrogen chloride 90 30
22 September 1999 Sulphur dioxide 217 300
22 September 1998 Sulphur dioxide 242 300
21 December 1998 Hydrogen chloride 55 30
17 February 1999 Carbon monoxide 331 100
17 February 1999 Sulphur dioxide 454 300
17 February 1999 Sulphur dioxide 512 300

mg/Nm3
Date Emission Value—average emission Emission limit
6 April 1999 Carbon monoxide 167 100
6 April 1999 Carbon monoxide 180 100
22 July 1999 Hydrogen chloride 140 30
22 July 1999 Hydrogen chloride 48 30
27 July 1999 Hydrogen chloride 518 30
4 October 1999 Hydrogen chloride 62 30
4 November 1999 Hydrogen chloride 83 30
23 November 1999 Hydrogen chloride 152 30
23 November 1999 Hydrogen chloride 69 30
22 May 2000 Carbon monoxide 132 100
21 June 2000 Carbon monoxide 302 100
28 July 2000 Carbon monoxide 308 100
10 August 2000 Carbon monoxide 311 100
21 November 2000 Carbon monoxide 145 100
22 November 2000 Carbon monoxide 179 100
18 October 2000 Carbon monoxide 269 100
18 October 2000 Carbon monoxide 450 100
19 January 2001 Carbon monoxide 106 100
30 January 2001 Carbon monoxide 101 100
9 February 2001 Carbon monoxide 132 100
19 February 2001 Carbon monoxide 138 100
20 February 2001 Carbon monoxide 178 100
26 February 2001 Hydrogen chloride 54 30
26 February 2001 Hydrogen chloride 34 30
26 February 2001 Carbon monoxide 163 100
5 March 2001 Carbon monoxide 212 100
9 March 2001 Carbon monoxide 165 100
22 March 2001 Carbon monoxide 267 100
4 May 2001 Particulate 30 30
18 May 2001 Carbon monoxide 138 100
21 May 2001 Carbon monoxide 150 100
31 May 2001 Carbon monoxide 156 100
30 May 2001 Carbon monoxide 172 100
21 June 2001 Carbon monoxide 136 100
5 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 174 100
3 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 131 100
2 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 237 100
17 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 151 100
3 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 308 100
11 July 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 443 350
11 July 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 352 350
19 July 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 355 350
12 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 231 100
23 July 2001 Carbon monoxide 295 100
22 August 2001 Carbon monoxide 279 100
3 August 2001 Carbon monoxide 185 100
3 August 2001 Carbon monoxide 242 100
7 August 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 355 350
7 August 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 359 350
7 August 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 354 350
10 August 2001 Oxides of nitrogen 355 350
17 October 2001 Carbon monoxide 297 100
25 October 2001 Carbon monoxide 272 100
12 November 2001 Carbon monoxide 340 100
28 November 2001 Carbon monoxide 201 100
31 December 2001 Carbon monoxide 288 100
5 February 2002 Carbon monoxide 145 100
25 February 2002 Carbon monoxide 208 100

Mr. Love

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she will take to improve the regulatory framework in which energy from waste incinerators operate in order to ensure breaches in emissions are minimised; and if she will make a statement. [57709]

Mr. Meacher

'Energy from Waste' incinerators are already tightly regulated through authorisations issued under the Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) regime. This regulatory regime is being subsumed into the even more exacting Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC). Existing energy from waste incinerators will have to apply for IPPC permits by 31 August 2005.

Additionally, we are currently transposing the new Waste Incineration Directive (WID), which will further tighten emissions standards. This will apply to all new incinerators within its scope by 28 December 2002, and to existing plant by 28 December 2005.

The Environment Agency has also recently varied the authorisations for existing municipal solid waste incinerators to reduce the dioxin emission limit to that required by the WID.

In all cases, authorisations and permits specify stringent emission limits and other operating conditions with which the operator must comply. The Environment Agency assesses compliance through its monitoring and inspection programmes.

Mr. Love

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action is being taken by the Environment Agency to reduce emissions of gases from energy from waste incinerators; what improvements have been registered in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [57711]

Operator Location Improvements
London Waste Ltd. Edmonton, London Plant upgraded and recommissioned 1997
SELCHP Deptford, London Installed oxides of nitrogen abatement (SNCR) August 1998
Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Co. Ltd. Coventry Plant abatement upgraded 1996–97
MES Environmental Ltd. Dudley, West Midlands New plant commissioned 1998
MES Environmental Ltd. Wolverhampton New plant commissioned 1998
MES Environmental Ltd. Stoke-on-Trent New plant commissioned 1998
Tyseley Waste Disposal Ltd. Tyseley, Birmingham New plant commissioned 1998
Waste Recycling Group plc Nottingham Plant upgraded and recommissioned 1997
GM Waste Ltd. Bolton, Lancashire New plant commissioned 2000
Sheffield city council Sheffield Plant upgraded and recommissioned 1997–98. Application for new plant currently being determined.
Cleveland Waste Management Billingham, Cleveland New plant commissioned 1–99