§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to require the introduction of gasification processes in any power plant licensed to burn orimulsion; what studies his Department has made of the environmental impact of the use of orimulsion to generate power; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsIn line with their statutory obligations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will include in the authorisation for any individual plant such conditions as are needed to meet the objective of ensuring that the operator will use the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost for that plant to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce to a minimum and to render harmless releases of prescribed substances, having regard to the best practicable environmental option for the environment as a whole.
Various studies on orimulsion have been conducted for the Department and for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution. These have addressed such issues as: SO, emissions from orimulsion compared with heavy fuel oil or UK coal; emissions of particulates, vanadium and nickel and the production of acid smuts from the combustion of orimulsion; and the effects of spillage of orimulsion.