§ Lord Northfieldasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which two liquid wastes will be eligible for licences allowing continued dumping in the North Sea until the end of 1992; on what grounds other North Sea states are objecting to the dumping of these liquids; and which other North Sea states signified their objection at the recent meeting of the Oslo Commission.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Trumpington)Effluent from pharmaceutical manufacture by Sterling Organics and ammonium sulphate effluent from acrylics production by ICI will be eligible for licences for disposal in the North Sea until the end of 1992. Detailed information concerning the first waste was sent to other countries in September 989. Certain North Sea states, in objecting to extension of the licence for this waste, considered that alternative means of disposal were practicable, or that detailed information on the company's production process should be provided in order to permit better assessment of whether waste quantities could be reduced. Some states considered that the data provided did not show conclusively that no harm would be caused to the marine environment by continued dumping. North Sea states are now considering information recently submitted by the Government as regards the ICI waste; the period for making objections is not yet ended.
At the meeting of the Oslo Commission in June no additional countries signified objection to continued dumping. Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway noted with satisfaction that the licences would expire in a relatively short period of time and congratulated the UK on our efforts to end this dumping.