HC Deb 27 October 1988 vol 139 cc387-8W
Mr. Beggs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if pollution of the Irish sea will be placed on the agenda of the next North sea Ministers conference in March 1990.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

There is no provision at present for specific discussion of pollution in the Irish sea at the third North sea ministerial conference in March 1990. This accords with the scope of the agenda at the first and second conferences.

Aspects of pollution in the Irish sea were recently considered in a report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas and are currently being discussed by the Irish sea study group, an independent forum bringing together a wide range of interested parties.

At intergovernmental level issues related to dumping at sea and discharges from land based sources are discussed in the Oslo and Parish Commissions which cover the north-east Atlantic area and whose membership includes both Ireland and the United Kingdom. In addition the Governments of both countries are regularly in touch to discuss matters of mutual interest in this area.

Mr. Beggs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are being taken to end radioactive discharges into the Irish sea.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The largest source of man-made radioactive discharges to the Irish sea is the British Nuclear Fuels plc reprocessing plant at Sellafield. As a result of major investment, discharges of low-level radioactive liquid waste to sea from Sellafield have decreased considerably over recent years and now are only one tenth of what they were in 1979. Further major reductions will be achieved in the early 1990s as the result of investment by British Nuclear Fuels in new plant. The main objective is to ensure that the radiation exposure arising from radioactive wastes should be as low as reasonably achieveable.

Mr. Beggs

To ask the Secretary of State for the environment if he will introduce legislation to prohibit the dumping of industrial waste and sewage sludge in the Irish sea and take steps immediately to reduce at source the volume and complexity of toxic waste presently being discharged into rivers flowing into the Irish sea.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The dumping of waste at sea, including sewage sludge, and the discharge of waste to rivers are already controlled in all United Kingdom inland and coastal waters under legislation which is the responsibility of fisheries and environment Departments.

There are no current licences permitting the dumping of industrial waste in the Irish sea. The disposal of treated sewage sludge is permitted only where the licensing authority is satisfied that there will be no damage to the marine environment and dump sites are carefully monitored for this purpose.

Discharge to rivers are primarily the responsibility of water authorities in England and Wales, river purification boards in Scotland, and in Northern Ireland, the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. On 28 July the Department of the Environment published a consultation document setting out proposals for tighter controls on the discharge of dangerous substances to water in England and Wales, including a "red list" of 26 substances or compounds, for which substantial reductions, of the order of 50 per cent. will be sought by 1995. These proposals will also be incorporated into the framework of controls in Scotland and Northern Ireland and will spearhead action to reduce inputs of dangerous substances to rivers and estuaries taken as a result of the London North sea conference declaration. They will be applicable to all United Kingdom coastal waters.