HC Deb 08 May 1990 vol 172 cc84-5W
Mrs. Mahon

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria he lays down for the temperature at which hospital incinerators operate; and whether any analysis of the output of chlorinated dibenzodioxins (dioxins) and dibenzofurans from such incinerators has been made.

Mr. Dorrell

Hospital clinical waste incinerators are required to conform with British Standard 3316—that is, to operate at a temperature of 800°C. The monitoring of flue-gas emissions is a matter for individual health authorities.

New, higher standards for the operation of such incinerators will be introduced following the enactment of the Environmental Protection Bill. These will include new operating temperatures and more stringent flue-gas emission controls.

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