§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had, when, and with whom regarding the incineration of toxic and hazardous wastes in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. NeedhamAt a meeting of the Anglo-Irish conference on 31 January 1991, I exchanged views on this and other environmental issues with the Minister for the Environment in the Irish Republic, Mr. Flynn. I have also discussed with the management of Du Pont (UK) Ltd., their proposal for a hazardous waste incinerator and have visited the company's site at Maydown, County Londonderry.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is intended that plastic and throwaway paper items can be disposed of in the proposed incinerator at Maydown, County Londonderry.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe incinerator proposed by Du Pont (UK) Ltd. would not be intended for the incineration of general municipal waste. It would be a specialist facility designed to dispose of certain industrial wastes produced in the chemical and allied industries by a process known as high temperature incineration.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to monitor the stack emissions of the proposed incinerator at Maydown, County Londonderry.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe alkali and radiochemical inspectorate of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland would be responsible for ensuring that the emissions from the stack of any such incinerator, once started, were monitored for compliance with the standards prescribed by the Department. In addition to its own direct monitoring of emissions, the inspectorate would audit the routine in-house monitoring undertaken by the operator.