§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the 47 water treatment plants in the United Kingdom producing drinking water whose aluminium content is above European Economic Community limits; by how much each treatment plant is in excess of these limits; and if he will make a statement in respect of excess aluminium sulphate in drinking water and any connection with the brain disorder, Alzheimer's disease.
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§ Mr. MoynihanThe 43 areas where the Department has granted derogations under article 9 of the EC drinking water directive or has applied to the European Commission under article 20 for a further period of time in order to comply with the aluminium standard are as follows:
Severn-Trent Water Authority
- Parts of North Warwickshire, Coventry and Nuneaton
- Parts of Charnwood, Hinckley and Bosworth
- Parts of Stroud District Council area
- Part of Montgomery
South West Water Authority
- Parishes of Seaton and Beer
- Areas supplied from Tottiford treatment works
- Areas supplied from Prewley treatment works
- Bideford
- College supply zone—Falmouth and Penrhyn
- Watercombe supply zone
- Higher parts of Penzance
- Launceston and Callington areas
- Bodmin and Wadebridge areas
- Princetown
- Chagford Crediton hamlets
North West Water Authority
- Parts of Sefton MB
- Parts of Stockport MB
- Parts of Bolton MB
- Parts of Tameside MB
- Parts of Oldham MB
- Parts of Carlisle District
- Parts of Eden District
- Parts of Lancaster Borough
- Parts of Ribble Valley District
Yorkshire Water Authority
- South East Sheffield
- Central Sheffield
- Parts of West Barnsley (2 supplies)
- South West Sheffield
- Thornton supply area (West Bradford)
- Area east of Thirsk
- Addingham
- Parts of Dewsbury, Mirfield and Huddersfield
- Part of north Bradford
- Huddersfield, Holmbridge and Holmstyles area
- Parts of Huddersfield
- Rural area of Keighley
- Reva supply area, Rombalds
- Parts of Huddersfield
- Rural areas west and south of Halifax (2 supplies)
- Northern area of Halifax
- Otley
Programmes of improvement are in hand to ensure that all supplies will comply with the aluminium standard in the directive as soon as possible.
Information as to how much each treatment plant exceeds the aluminium standard in the EC directive is not held centrally. However, in accordance with the terms of the directive the Department granted derogations (exemptions) where the aluminium is naturally occurring and applied to the Commission for delays where it is used in the treatment process up to limits which have been agreed with medical advisers.
The Department of Health's committee on medical aspects of the contamination of air, soil and water has concluded that it has not been established that a reduction in the aluminium intake of the general population would be likely to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. It considered that the associations between Alzheimer's disease and aluminium concentrations in drinking water, suggested by recent studies in Norway and the United Kingdom, were too tentative to justify changes in the use 204W of aluminum sulphate in water treatment. Further research is important, particularly on the bioavailability of aluminium from all sources.