§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has carried out into the health implications of allowing the burning of animal fat from cattle at the Teesside power station, Witton. [147403]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Environment Agency is currently determining a permit application under the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 from SembCorp Utilities Teesside Limited who operate the Teesside power station. The company plans to burn tallow that is currently held in storage as a result of the Over Thirty Month (Slaughter) Scheme (OTMS).
The Agency has produced an OTMS Tallow Protocol that provides guidance to Agency Officers and operators on the determination procedure for applications to burn OTMS tallow. The Protocol states that the Operator 629W must provide an environmental risk assessment of their proposals, including the risks of burning, handling, filtration, and any other pathways by which potential BSE infectivity might affect human health or the environment.
As required by the Regulations, the Agency sent a copy of the operator's application to the local Primary Care Trust. The Agency has received a response on their behalf by the Tees Local Health Protection Unit. The response stated that the information from the application had been considered, together with additional information provided in a report by the European Commission's Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) entitled "The Safety of Tallow Obtained from Ruminant Slaughter By-products" and a "Risk Assessment for the Transport and Combustion of OTMS Tallow" by Det Norske Veritas Limited (DNV). Information had also been provided to the Health Protection Unit by a representative of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC).
The Tees Local Health Protection Unit response included the conclusions that, on the basis of the information supplied, the risks to individuals contracting vCJD1 as a result of the transportation to and combustion of the tallow at the power station can be described as being negligible.
The Environment Agency is considering this response and the additional information provided by the SSC and DNV as part of its determination of the application.
The Agency is also taking into account UK and European air quality standards and objectives in its determination These are set at levels which are unlikely to cause harm to human health.
1vCJD: variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease