§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the impact of nutrients discharged from land-based sources into the Irish Sea. [44004]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 21 March 2002]: The Urban Waste Water Treatment and Nitrates Directives require member states to undertake periodic reviews of estuaries and near-shore marine areas to establish whether they are adversely affected (or have the potential to become so) by nutrient inputs from rivers and direct discharges. The latest reviews were undertaken by the discharge regulators during 2001 and the results should be available later this year.
Within the work programme of OSPAR, the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic, Contracting Parties including the UK are currently assessing the eutrophication status of the various parts of the OSPAR maritime area. An initial stage, to identify the more obvious non-problem areas, found that the wider parts of the Irish Sea fell into the "non-problem" category. The area of the Irish Sea to the east of a line from Anglesey to the Solway Firth is being subject to a more detailed evaluation as it is recognised that this area may be at greater risk of being 727W adversely affected by nutrients from land based sources. The UK is due to present the findings of this more detailed evaluation at the end of 2002.
§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research the Government have recently conducted into pollution of the Irish Sea. [44003]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 21 March 2002]: The UK Government have supported an extensive programme of research into pollution in the Irish Sea in recent years.
The Department, working in conjunction with the Scottish and Northern Irish Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER), made a substantial contribution to the body of evidence from which the co-ordinated UK-Irish assessment of the Celtic Seas was produced in 2000. This Quality Status Report (QSR) for the Celtic Seas, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House of Commons, provides a list of references which includes items of research sponsored by the UK Government.
Since 2000 we have continued to build our evidence base on pollution of the Irish Sea with a view to assessing the status of the North East Irish Sea in relation to nutrient inputs and identifying the key processes determining the potential impact and transport of pollutants. This is a part of our ongoing co-ordinated marine environment research programme which continues to contribute to regional co-operation on research and monitoring through OSPAR (the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic) and its Assessment and Monitoring Committee.
In respect of pollution by radioactive substances, the results of a joint research project between the Environment Agency and SNIFFER, entitled Past, Current and Future Radiological Impacts of Radioactive Marine Discharges on Coastal Communities Surrounding the Irish Sea, was published in 1999. A copy of this report is available in the Library.