§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many galvanising plants there are in the United Kingdom; how long these have been established; and how many complaints have been received by his Department about 790W possible health hazards to the community near such plants.
Mr. Alan WilliamsAccording to available information, there are 106 general galvanising plants in the United Kingdom. These vary from small plants with one galvanising bath to plants with four or five large baths. Also there are four sheet galvanising lines, four tube galvanising plants and around 20 wire galvanising plants. The ages of such plants vary from new to those with equipment around 20 years old, although buildings may be much older. My Department has received no complaints about health hazards arising from the operation of galvanising plants.