HC Deb 16 November 1989 vol 160 c498W
Mr. Alan W. Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many large chemical incinerators there are in Britain that can handle special wastes;

(2) if he will provide an estimate of the total amount of special wastes dumped at Leigh environmental waste disposal site in Walsall;

(3) what information he has as to the number of large chemical incinerators which can handle special wastes in (a) the European Community (excluding the United Kingdom) and (b) the rest of the world;

(4) what information he has as to the amount of special wastes incinerated on board ships during 1988 (a) in the North sea and (b) in European waters;

(5) what information he has as to the number of large chemical incinerators for toxic wastes worldwide having (a) a double door with an air-lock and (b) a single door;

(6) what is the total amount of special wastes that have been subjected to the Leigh environmental sealosafe solidification process; and what proportion of this is in a non-solid form;

(7) what quantities of special wastes were imported into Britain for incineration for every year from 1979 to the present time;

(8) if he will give details of the amounts found by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution of PCBs and dioxin in the flue gases from the Rechem International incinerator plant at Ponteg, Pontypool; and what information he has on comparable figures of large chemical incinerators in mainland Europe;

(9) if he will summarise the results found by Her Majesty's inspectorate for pollution of tests for PCBs and dioxin in herbage and soil samples around the Rechem incinerator plant at Ponteg, Pontypool;

(10) what amounts of chemical waste were incinerated at the Rechem plant in Pontypool in each year from 1985 to the present; and what quantities of PCB contaminated waste were handled each year;

(11) what estimate he has on the cumulative total amount of PCBs manufactured over the last 30 years in (a) the Monsanto chemical works in Newport, Gwent,(b) Britain, (c) Western Europe and (d) worldwide;

(12) what information he has of alternative methods to incineration now being considered for the destruction of polychlorinated bi-phenyls;

(13) whether Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will consider the installation of continuous monitoring equipment to measure the amounts of PCBs and dioxin in the flue gases from the Rechem plant in Pontypool;

(14) what quantities of flyash have been imported through Swansea Docks for every year from 1979 to the present time; and what are the results of analyses carried out for dioxin in such flyash.

Mr. Trippier

I will write to the hon. Member.