§ Mr. Ottawayasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the effect of a reduction in sulphur emissions by the Central Electricity Generating Board on (a) acidity of Scandinavian lakes and (b) plant damage.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIt is difficult to quantify the effect of a reduction in CEGB sulphur dioxide emissions on the acidity of Scandinavian lakes because they are only a small part of the total emissions affecting Scandinavia and because the process by which deposited sulphur compounds are transformed in the soil are complex. The recent decision in principle to retrofit flue gas desulphurisation equipment to three major power stations should result by 1997 in a reduction of sulphur deposition between about 1 and 2 per cent. of today's total depositions in Scandinavia.
I am not aware of any evidence of plant damage having been caused by current levels of CEGB sulphur dioxide emissions.