§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will request an explanation from Cheshire county council as to why his Department was not informed earlier than February that 2,500 drums of paint residues and pigments from the Chemstar plant had been landfilled at Rixton.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyCheshire county council, as the waste disposal authority, is the competent body with 285W regard to the licensing of waste disposal facilities. It is the council's responsibility to ensure that all facilities that it licences pose no risk to public health, water resources or the environment generally. There is no requirement for the council to inform this Department of wastes that it permits on to a landfill.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further tests have been carried out at the Rixton landfilled site following the recent discovery of dioxins in the ground at Chemstar.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyI am informed that Cheshire county council, the waste disposal authority, has carried out no tests for dioxin at the Rixton landfill site. I understand that it is in close touch with Tameside borough council in whose area the Chemstar plant is located.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has of ash from the Luvella waste incinerator being dumped at Rixton; what was the quantity of this ash: at which sites the ash was dumped; and if his Department will take samples of this ash to test for the presence of dioxins.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyNone. It is the responsibility of the waste disposal authority, Cheshire county council, to licence and monitor the Rixton landfill. If it perceives the need, it is the responsibility of the local waste disposal authority to arrange for any particular waste stream to be analysed.