§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those research projects into the effect of the discharge of minewater which are currently supported by the Natural Environment Research Council; and how much funding the council provides for each project. [33556]
§ Mr. Ian Taylor[holding answer 12 July 1995]: The Plymouth Marine Laboratory—an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council—as apart of its longer-term studies of the Cornish rivers and estuaries is studying metal contamination of estuarine and coastal environments, much of which derives from past local mining activity in south-west England.
No systematic assessment of the environmental impact of coalfield abandonment has been commissioned from the NERC.