§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all the sites in Wales currently utilised in order to monitor levels of(a) sulphur emission and (b) acid rain; and how much money has been allocated by his Department in order to undertake such work.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThe information is as follows:
130W
- (a) Sulphur dioxide—sites at Cardiff, Newport, Neyland, Port Talbot, Welshpool and Wrexham.
- (b) Acid rain—sites at Beddgelert, Plynlimon, Llyn Brianne, and Tycanol Wood.
The monitoring network to which these sites belong are funded on a United Kingdom basis by the Department of the Environment.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment has been made by his Department of the use of fuel orimulsion to increase the output of power stations in Wales and the consequent effect of this action on acidification in upland areas and the level of sulphur emissions.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettOne application to burn orimulsion fuel at a power station in Wales has been made by National Power, in respect of its plant at Pembroke. As required, National Power has made separate applications to the Department of Energy and to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 respectively. The Department is being consulted about both applications. In advance of decisions by the relevant bodies, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the proposals, or on the Department's assessment of them, particularly in view of Ministers statutory appellate role under the Environmental Protection Act.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by county areas how many tonnes of(a) sulphur dioxide, (b) nitrogen oxide and (c) particulate carbon were discharged into the atmosphere in Wales during the latest year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThis information is not available on a county level basis. However, information on United Kingdom estimated emission levels, by emission source and type of fuel, can be found in the Department of the Environment's publication "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics" No. 13 1990.
For emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate carbon, the latest available United Kingdom figures are for 1989—and are 3.67 million, 2.69 million and 0.15 million tonnes respectively.