Mr. SmithTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what comparative assessment his Department has made of the pollutant discharges to the environment in aqueous, solid or aerial particulate form, of the cradle-to-grave process, productions and use of(a) nuclear fuels, (b) coal, (c) oil, (d) gas and (e) renewable energies used for electricity generation.
§ Mr. MacleanI have been asked to reply.
No comprehensive comparison has been made by this Department. Details of releases from power stations burning coal, gas and oil and the relevant abatement technologies have been published by the Department in "Acidic Emission Abatement Technologies", volumes 1 to 3, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
Releases to the environment from individual power stations for electricity generation using coal, oil, gas and 953W nuclear fuels are controlled by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, HMIP. In determining each application from the electricity generators for these processes, HMIP will consider the environmental implications of releases to all three media; air, water and land.