Dr. ThomasTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of the London dumping convention, held in London in October.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe 11th consultative meeting of contracting parties to the London dumping convention (LDC) was held in London from 3 to 7 October.
449WAt this meeting it was agreed that detailed studies of scientific, legal, political, social and economic aspects of radioactive waste disposal at sea should continue to be carried out by an intergovernmental panel of experts at meetings in 1989 and 1990.
The meeting also adopted a resolution on the incineration of hazardous liquid waste at sea. This resolution provides for a re-evaluation of this practice to be undertaken in early 1992 with a view to proceeding towards the termination of marine incineration by the end of 1994. The re-evaluation is to take into account the scientific and technical aspects of incineration at sea and the practical availability of safer and environmentally more acceptable land-based alternatives.
It was agreed that guidelines and standards for the removal of offshore installations and structures prepared by the International Maritime Organisation were acceptable from the viewpoint of the LDC and that matters related to their disposal should be considered at the next meeting of the LDC's scientific group.
Other matters considered at this meeting were arrangements for the participation of non-governmental organisations in the LDC, various legal and scientific issues relating to the dumping of waste at sea and the interpretation of the convention, and co-operation and information exchange related to the work of the convention.
It was agreed that the 12th consultative meeting of contracting parties would be held in October 1989.