HC Deb 13 June 1988 vol 135 cc48-50W
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest available figures for the amount of flyash dumped at sea at sites off the north-east coast of England.

Mr. Gummer

In 1987 just under 375,000 tonnes of flyash were deposited at approved sea dump sites off the north-east coast of England.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest available figures for the amounts of colliery spoil dumped at sea off the north-east coast of England.

Mr. Gummer

In 1987 a total of 2,014,000 tonnes of minestone were deposited under licence on the beaches at Seaham, Easington and Lynemouth; a further 1,572,000 tonnes were disposed of at the approved sea dump site off the north-east coast.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the latest available figures of the amounts and types of chemicals in industrial waste dumped at sea at each of the various sites around the United Kingdom.

Mr. Gummer

I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will outline the investigations being carried out to demonstrate that dumping liquid industrial waste at sea does not harm the marine environment; and whether these investigations are carried out in their laboratory or in the field.

Mr. Gummer

All liquid industrial wastes for which application for sea disposal is made are examined in the Ministry's laboratory. Toxicity testing and chemical analysis are undertaken to ensure that potentially toxic or persistent bioaccumulatable substances are within internationally agreed limits and pose no likelihood of causing damage to the marine environment in the short or longer term. The probable initial dilution of the waste, its degradeability and its longer term fate are assessed. The minimum initial dilution required to avoid toxic effects is determined and imposed if necessary as a condition of any licence granted.

Investigations at the disposal site are made by Ministry scientists to establish the nature of the marine species, water movements which may affect dilution and dispersion of the waste, and water quality. Once disposal commences, monitoring is conducted to confirm the absence of harm to the marine environment; this will usually include assessments of actual dilution, field bioassays, analysis of water and sediments and examination of fish and other species, including those living on the seabed.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will outline the efforts being made to find environmentally acceptable alternatives to dumping colliery spoil in the North sea and adjacent beaches.

Mr. Gummer

Each application for a licence under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 to dispose of colliery spoil at sea or on beaches is thoroughly examined by my Ministry. I make a careful assessment of all potential alternative means of disposal, drawing on comments obtained from consultations held by my officials with local environmental interests and local authorities. The Government also have available the results of research into disposal options commissioned by the Department of the Environment in 1986.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of any investigations which have concluded that there are no practical land-based alternatives to dumping at sea.

Mr. Gummer

All applicants for licences to dump waste at sea are required to demonstrate that land-based alternatives to dumping have been carefully considered. The practicability of land-based disposal options is thoroughly assessed in every case by this Ministry,drawing, where appropriate, on the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.

The composition and volume of most liquid industrial wastes hitherto accepted for disposal at sea has generally rendered them technically unsuitable for other disposal methods. As regards colliery spoil, the Department of the Environment commissioned research by Ove Arup and Partners Ltd. into the availability and cost of means of disposal other than beach tipping at Seaham; the Government concluded from that work in 1986 that there was currently no practical land-based alternative to dumping.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list any details of any investigations demonstrating the level of risk to the marine environment posed by sewage sludge dumped at sea.

Mr. Gummer

Investigations in the laboratory and at sea are carried out for sewage sludge in a similar way to those undertaken for liquid industrial wastes described in my reply today to another question by the hon. Member. Sewage sludge is a dispersion of organic rich solids and other particulates in water. The water content is usually more than 95 per cent. The organic matter is largely readily degraded in the sea and limits are set to the trace levels of any persistent organic chemicals and metals to ensure that no harm to the marine environment can be caused by their presence.

Results of monitoring investigations at dump sites by this Ministry are published from time to time in the fisheries research technical report series. They show that disposal of sewage sludge at sea under controlled conditions has a minimal effect on the marine environment.