§ Sir Bernard Braineasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the report from the Health and Safety Executive of their investigation of potential hazards at Canvey Island.
§ Mr. BoothThe report of the Canvey Island study is being published today, and copies have been placed in the Library of the House. The inquiry was arranged by the Health and Safety Commission at the request of the then Secretaries of State for Employment and for the Environment in 1976 to investigate the risks to health and safety associated with various installations both existing and proposed on Canvey Island. It was commissioned following the report of an exploratory public inquiry into the desirability of revoking the planning permission given in 1973 to United Refineries Ltd. to build an oil refinery on Canvey Island.
The study was carried out for the Health and Safety Executive by the Safety and Reliability Directorate of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The report is in two parts: part 1 is the HSE's own report, which summarises the technical report by the SRD, explains the method of approach—including its view of its limitations—points out the degree of confidence to be placed on the figures, quotes other risks faced in every day life as a means of setting the report in perspective, and sets out a series of recommendations for action; part 2 is the report of the study carried out by the SRD on the Canvey/Thurrock area, and is largely technical in content. Copies of the complete report, or of part 1 alone, are obtainable from Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
The conclusions of the HSE report relate both to existing activities and to proposed development. The report concludes that if certain detailed recommendations are implemented there are no health and safety reasons why the existing installations should not continue to operate and the three outstanding refinery proposals go ahead. The HSE has already initiated discussions with the firms and others concerned about the recommendations affecting existing activities, and my right hon. 123W Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and the local planning authorities will be studying the recommendations relating to projected developments with a view to deciding appropriate action on outstanding planning matters.
I welcome the report of the inquiry as a valuable contribution to discussion of health and safety and environmental issues. It provides a comprehensive survey of the complex problems of an area which is in many respects unique. The Health and Safety Commission has also pointed out that this report will be of interest for its contribution to the methodology of risk analysis. It is the first such inquiry to be carried out in this country and probably in the world.
The installations covered by the report form a significant part of the United Kingdom oil, gas and petro-chemical industries, and relates closely to the utilisation of our North Sea resources. The report is therefore important in assisting decisions which may affect those who live in the locality, those who depend on the installations for their employment, and the contribution that the installations make to the economy of the country.