§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will now hold an inquiry into the pollution of soil by dumping or disposal of industrial metals and other toxic waste.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerNo. All the necessary inquiries have been made; what I want to see is action. I therefore intend to bring forward legislation as appropriate. Meanwhile I repeat the request I made in circular 26 issued on 27th April, 1971, that local authorities and others engaged on the disposal of waste by deposit on land should review their methods to ensure that tipping is being carried out to the highest possible standards. All producers of industrial wastes of any kind should examine the arrangements they have for disposal to ensure that the final disposal is, in their opinion, safe and satisfactory having regard to the nature and amount of waste involved.