§ Mr. GrahamTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he takes to monitor the dumping of asbestos in the river Clyde off Cloch point; and what information he has on what other dangerous waste or products have been dumped there.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 24 January 1990]: The dumping of waste at sea is subject to licences, under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, issued by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. No licences have been issued for disposal of asbestos at sea. Licences are issued by DAFS, however, for the disposal at sea of dredge spoil from Clyde navigation channels.
For the dump site near Cloch point, licence holders are required to submit details of the material they intend to dump and to carry out sampling and analysis of individual consignments for contaminants including asbestos. This process has revealed only trace amounts of asbestos contamination at the Cloch point site and the levels recorded are not thought to present any threat to human or marine life.
Scrutiny of applications and monitoring of dumping operations are carried out in accordance with international obligations of the United Kingdom under the Oslo convention on dumping of material at sea and the Government's commitment to apply to all United Kingdom waters principles laid down in the ministerial declaration of the second North sea conference. Annual reports on dumping operations are submitted to the commission of the Oslo convention.