§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new measures he is taking to ensure that Britain's waste incinerators comply with European Union regulations.
§ Mr. AtkinsEC legislation concerning polluting emissions from waste incinerators is implemented by means of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and directions made under it. The 1990 Act gives the enforcing authorities strong enforcement powers and provides for transparency of compliance by requiring a range of information to be placed on the public register.
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 18 January,Official Report, column 508, when he expects to publish the results of the survey of polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurens in soil in the vicinity of incinerators which is referred to in the November 1989 report of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
§ Sir Paul Beresford[holding answer 20 February 1995]: I expect the report to be published in the spring.
§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many incinerators have been closed because of dioxin emissions in each of the last five years, giving in each case the site of the plant and the level of dioxins being emitted.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe Department does not have information about which if any incinerator closures in the last five years were the result of dioxin emissions. Many incinerators have ceased operating since the Environmental Protection Act 1990 came into force because they were unable to meet the relevant BATNEEC—best available techniques not entailing excessive costs—standards.
§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the incinerators which have been investigated by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution because of concerns over dioxin emissions giving in each case the site of the plant, the date and nature of the investigation and the outcome;
(2) if he will list in nanograms per cubic metre the level of dioxins being emitted from each waste incinerator in England and Wales;
(3) what action HMIP (a) has taken and (b) proposes to take to reduce levels of dioxin emissions.
§ Mr. AtkinsHMIP has issued authorisations under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, that require operators of incinerators to report, among other things, the release of dioxins to atmosphere. These are recorded on the public register. HMIP also routinely inspects the operation of incinerators against the terms of each authorisation and, from time to time, carries out its own measurements of the dioxin releases. HMIP carries out detailed investigations if it has reasons to believe there 137W has been a serious breach of the conditions of the authorisation. Thus, for example, HMIP has carried out an investigation of the operation of the incinerator owned by Coalite Ltd. and has subsequently instituted proceedings.
Through the authorisations it has issued, HMIP is requiring operators to improve operating conditions and the controls of particulates to reduce the release of dioxins. In addition, it is requiring by the 1 December
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Dioxin emissions from incinerators (HMIP) = Results by HMIP—all others by the operator HMIP region Location Type* Each result ng/m3 Date of test ANG Nottingham MSW 5,20,71,23 January 1993 (HMIP) 26 December 1993 94.1,50 November 1994 ANG Edmonton MSW 5.1,8.6 January 1993 (HMIP) 7.1, 14 March 1993 (HMIP) 11.2,6,9.9,16.3 January and March 1993 January 1993 MID Derby MSW 12 1992 MID Malvern MSW 46.4,50,73.6 1994 (now closed) MID Stoke on Trent MSW (Two units) No. 1=64, 118 1993/94 No. 2=208,306 MID Tyseley-1 MSW 19,85 April 1994 (HMIP) Tyseley-2 18,87 1993–94 MID Wolverhampton MSW 8,10,21,17 1993–94 MID Coventry MSW 25,18.6 1993–94 MID Dudley MSW Closed MID Killamarsh Chemical 0.84 November 1991 1.05 August 1993 0.3 September 1993 (HMIP) 0.53 September 1993 (HMIP) 0.37 March 1994 NE Stockton on Tees MSW 6.1,2.3 1994 NE North Shields MSW Closed NE Sheffield MSW 4.1, 9.9 March 1994 NE Huddersfield MSW 178, 182, 187, May and 43,39,73 September 1994 NE Meltham MSW Now closed NW Rochdale MSW 6.8 1993 NW Bolton MSW 5.8 1993 NW Ellesmere Port Chemical 0.19,0.17,0.1, August 1993 (HMIP) 0.12,0.05,0.28 August 1993 (HMIP) 0.02 August 1993 (HMIP) 0.023 April-June 1994 0.014 July-September 1994 October-December 1994 SW Exeter MSW 0.3 1994 sw Avonmouth MSW 13.6 1994 South Havent MSW 5.5, 13, 18, 36, 1991 2.6 1993 April 1994 1996 that no incinerator shall operate unless the concentration of dioxin in its gaseous releases does not exceed 1 nanogram per cubic metre. This constitutes HMIP's view of what ought to be achievable using the best available techniques not entailing excessive costs, as required by the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The table shows all the available measurements of dioxin concentrations in the releases from all municipal and chemical waste incinerators regulated by HMIP.
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Dioxin emissions from incinerators (HMIP) = Results by HMIP—all others by the operator HMIP region Location Type* Each result ng/m3 Date of test South Basingstoke MSW 51,29, 1992 99. May 1993 1.23 April 1994 0.3, 0.2 August 1994 South Winchester MSW 210, 103, 58. 1992 3 May 1993 April 1994 South Marchwood MSW 7.6, 4.5, 3.8, 1991 4 1.2, May 1993 1.7 April 1994 October 1994 South SELCHP MSW Unit 1=0.4 March 1994 (Two units) Unit 2=0.12 March 1994 Unit1=0.04 December 1994 Unit 2=0.03 December 1994 South MAFF Addlestone Clinical 43, 32.6 October 1993 South Fareham Sludge 0.12 October 1993 0.24 August 1994 South Fawley Chemical 0.2 June 1993 0.19 July 1993 0.15 September1993 0.08 October 1993 4.6 November 1993 0.64, 0.64 January 1994 0.71,0.68, 0.67 February 1994 0.44 February 1994 0.65,0.41 March 1994 0.7, 0.8 May 1994 0.4, 0.57 June 1994 0.8 February 1994 (HMIP) 0.02 March 1994 (HMIP) South Grundon Clinical 8.87 January 1994 South Southwick Park Clinical (Two units) Unit 1=2.63 January 1994 Unit 2=3.8 January 1994 NE Sheffield Clinical 2.4 June 1994 NE York Water Sludge 0.02 November 1994 Wales Pontypool Chemical 1,0.77 July 1992 0.35 January 1994 0.5 March 1994 0.61 April 1994 0.78 May 1994 0.39 June 1994 0.41 July 1994 0.6 August 1994 0.47 September 1994 0.41 October 1994 *MSW = Municipal Waste Incinerator. 1 ng/m3 = One billionth of a gram.