§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Employment what safety precautions are to be taken whilst the chemical Kepone is transported from Southampton to Pontypool; if he will take steps to see that safety standards for dealing with dangerous chemicals in Wales are equivalent 402W to those in force in the United States of America; and what information he has on how many drums of Kepone Re-Chem International intends to deal with and on any methods which are being used which are different from those normally used in the United States of America.
§ Mr. John Grant, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 10th April], gave the following information:
The chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that Kepone has not yet been imported into the United Kingdom for disposal and that the Health and Safety Executive has taken steps to ensure by means of a prohibition notice that such disposal should not be carried out by Re-Chem International Limited until a safe system of work has been established and agreed between the executive and the company.
If the chemical Kepone is transported from Southampton to Pontypool the conveyor of the material will be obliged to meet the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc, Act 1974, and in particular strict safety precautions will have to be observed in the packaging and labelling of the material so that no one is put at risk from it and that those carrying out the conveyance are adequately instructed in the correct procedures to follow.
It is difficult to make a meaningful comparison between safety standards in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America, but I am satisfied that adequate provision is made for dealing with dangerous chemicals in Wales under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Control of Pollution Act 1974.
It is understood that Re-Chem International Limited intends in the first instance to dispose of 78—55-gallon capacity—drums of material containing a total of 1½ tons of Kepone as a trial run. Subsequently 35 tons of Kepone could be involved. It is understood that Kepone has been incinerated on a trial basis in the United States of America and that the company of Re-Chem is proposing to use a method of incineration whereby the waste will be burned inside the drums in which it is contained, so avoiding the need for human contact with the material.