§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his Department's liability for any health problems caused by the incineration of waste. [100942]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 6 December 1999]: The setting and enforcing of high environmental protection standards for waste incineration is a priority for the Government. Incinerators in England (and Wales) are regulated by the Environment Agency or local authorities under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Whether a particular person or organisation would be liable for any damage caused by incineration would be for the Courts to decide in the circumstances of the particular case.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the incineration of waste on(a) the Government's national air quality strategy and (b) local authority air quality strategies; and if he will make a statement. [100944]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 6 December 1999]: The recent review of the UK National Air Quality Strategy considered all stationary and mobile sources of air pollution, including waste incineration, in forecasting the future air pollution climate. A revised version of the Strategy is to be published shortly. Incineration plant are 484W already tightly controlled under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 through which EU waste incineration legislation is also implemented.
No national assessment has been made of the impact of incineration on local air quality strategies. In carrying out their local air quality management duties, however, local authorities will need to take account of the impact on air quality of any incineration processes in their areas. In drawing up any action plan or strategy to tackle local air pollution, authorities will wish to ensure that any additional reduction contributed by different sources (including any incineration processes) is balanced, proportionate and cost effective in relation to achieving the plan's objectives.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research the Government have commissioned into the possible risk to human health from the incineration of waste, indicating the publication date of each research document. [100943]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 6 December 1999]: The following recent Government sponsored research has addressed possible risks to human health specifically in relation to waste incineration:
Risk assessment of dioxin releases from municipal waste incineration processes HMIP/CPR2/41/1/181 Published by HMIP, 1996.Cancer incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators in Great Britain, by SAHSU, Elliott P, et al. Published in the British Journal of Cancer 1996 volume 73, pp 702–710. (A follow up study is to be published in the same journal early next year).A study of dioxins and furans in soil around four municipal waste incinerators in Hampshire, prepared by AEA Technology for the Environment Agency, 1996.Risks from BSE via environmental pathways, prepared by DNV for the Environment Agency, 1997.Health Effects of Waste Combustion Products, prepared by the Medical Research Council/Institute for Environment and Health for DTI, 1997.The Department of Health's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has also published a number of reports which are relevant to possible health effects of waste incineration. These are:Non-biological particles and health, Published 1995Asthma and outdoor pollution, Published 1995Quantification of the effects of air pollution on health in the UK, Published 1998.The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's Seventeenth Report on Incineration of Waste (Cm 2181, 1993) also considered health effects of waste incineration. The Department of Health/Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Air Pollution Research Initiative is currently examining the effects on health of some products of combustion, including particles. A report for the Environment Agency on clinical waste disposal risk assessment is to be published shortly.