§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Government will make it their policy to bring an end to the dumping of chemical waste932W in the North sea; what countries bordering the North sea permit the discharge of industrial waste into it; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryIt is established Government policy to terminate the dumping at sea of liquid industrial waste. The search for environmentally acceptable means for disposal of the wastes on land has been pressed forward urgently since the second North sea conference. The number of licences has already been reduced since 1987 by more than half; and the remaining licences will be terminated as soon as alternative means of disposal can be put in place. Important processes including the production of medicines are involved, and the necessary investment will often be high. Nevertheless I anticipate that most sea disposal licences should be ended this year or next.
All countries which border the North sea, or which border rivers entering it, permit the discharge of waste into the North sea.
The main sources of pollutants entering the North sea are rivers. Eighty per cent. of the riverborne pollution is from the continental rivers. Fifty per cent. of total riverborne pollution originates in the Rhine and the Meuse. For comparison the United Kingdom's dumping of liquid industrial waste adds no significant levels of pollutants to the sea.