North Sea (Hansard, 21 March 1990)

30. Mr. Alan W. Williams
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will bring forward the dates by which he intends to end the dumping of sewage sludge, fly ash and industrial wastes in the North sea.

§ Mr. Trippier
No. We confirmed our intention to end the dumping of industrial waste by the end of 1992 and to end the dumping of sewage sludge by the end of 1998 at the third North sea conference in the Hague on 7 and 8 March. These wastes are not toxic and no harm has been proven in the marine environment. The setting of termination dates is in line with the precautionary approach adopted at the second North sea conference in 1987.

§ 108. Mr. Janman
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the condition of the United Kingdom's rivers and their contribution to pollution of the North sea.

§ Mr. David Trippier
The United Kingdom's rivers are amongst the cleanest in Europe. Ninety five per cent. are classified as being of good or fair quality compared with 75 per cent. in the European Community as a whole.
The combined effect of all United Kingdom rivers flowing into the North sea is to contribute about 20 per cent. of riverborne contaminants. The remaining 80 per cent. comes from continental rivers, with the Rhine and Meuse alone contributing some 40 to 50 per cent.
The United Kingdom's north sea national action plan, published on 5 March, shows the progress that has already been made in further reducing the inputs of dangerous substances to rivers and coastal waters and hence the open sea. For instance, inputs of two of the most important contaminants, mercury and cadmium, have been reduced by 31 and 22 per cent. respectively since 1985.

§ 81. Mr. Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent North sea Environment Ministers' conference.

§ Mr. Chris Patten
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on the outcome of The Hague conference on 7 and 8 March.

§ 70. Mr. Waller
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response his proposals to protect North sea wildlife received at the recent conference of North sea Environment Ministers.
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§ Mr. Trippier
The United Kingdom's initiative in raising wildlife as a topic for consideration by North sea Ministers was well received at last week's conference in the Hague. In addition to the United Kingdom's proposals in the package of measures agreed on research, survey and protection of marine wildlife the final declaration also reflects proposals from the Governments of the Netherlands and Sweden. The agreement on protection of small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) will be further developed by the Swedish Government in the context of the Bonn convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals.

§ 42. Mr. Wray
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent studies his Department has carried out regarding waste disposal in the North sea and its impact on marine life.

§ Mr. Trippier
Studies of effects of contaminants on marine species arising from any waste reaching the sea, via rivers, the atmosphere or dumping are a fundamental part of marine environment science programmes of the Department of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and other research agencies in the United Kingdom working on the North sea. An assessment of general effects on marine species, reflecting the results of research by the United Kingdom and other North sea states, is included in the quality status report prepared for the second North sea conference, a copy of which is in the Library.
Recent or continuing work sponsored by the Department of the Environment has included studies of seals and benthic (sea bed) communities, and the development of internationally standardised techniques for assessing the biological impact of contaminants.

§ 40. Mr. Mans
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of pollution entering the North sea comes from rivers; and what proportion of that pollution comes from British rivers and those on the continent, respectively.

§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
Pollution enters the North sea by way of rivers and direct discharges, atmospheric deposition, dumping at sea, and the operational discharges from ships and offshore platforms. Of these, reliable estimates can be made of all except atmospheric deposition, the effects of which are widely diffused over the entire sea area.
Rivers bringing heavy contaminant loads to relatively small areas of the sea, are the most important source of North sea pollution and our best estimate is that they contribute roughly 40 per cent, of the North sea contaminant load. Of that, 20 per cent. comes from British rivers and 80 per cent. from continental rivers.

§ 33. Mr. Norris
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to protect wildlife in the North sea.

§ Mr. Trippier
The third North sea conference last week in the Hague adopted an agreement to protect dolphins and porpoises and a package of other measures on wildlife, including securing better protection for the major North sea wildlife sites.
Protection for marine wildlife was a United Kingdom proposal at the conference and we will build on these initiatives at future conferences.