§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all known forms of disease and infection which his medical and scientific advisers consider may have some connection with toxic waste incineration, and in particular relating to all forms of dioxins which may be created by the incineration process.
§ Mr. DorrellEmissions of toxic compounds, including dioxins, from hazardous waste incinerators, are restricted to levels well below that which might be expected to cause harmful effects. Studies conducted in the United Kingdom have found no evidence of an unusual incidence of disease around such incinerators, nor is there evidence that human disease or infection has resulted from dioxins arising from the process of toxic waste incineration.
The independent expert Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products, and the Environment (COT) reviewed the extensive toxicity data on dioxins, and this review was published in "Dioxins in the Environment", (pollution paper No. 27 1989), a copy of which is available in the Library. The report describes a range of effects, such as chloracne, following massive accidental dioxins exposures, as well as those described in animal experiments using high exposures over a long period of time.
The COT noted that the available data on the toxic effects of dioxins in human health are, on the whole, reassuring. However, the COT recommended action to identify sources and control emissions of dioxins, in order to reduce human exposure. The Government have therefore extended rigorous controls, on combustion conditions and emissions, to all incinerators, which should reduce dioxin emissions from such sources by up to 90 per cent.