Emissions (Pollutants) (Hansard, 15 February 1999)

§ Mr. Meacher

The Environment Agency currently compiles an inventory of polluting substances emitted from processes subject to Integrated Pollution Control in England and Wales, the Chemical Release Inventory. Following an extended period of consultation, the Agency announced on 27 November 1998 that it was varying the authorisations of all IPC processes to require the provision of data on a more consistent basis. The Agency, in consultation with stakeholders, has developed a standard list of pollutants and reporting thresholds. All operations with processes subject to IPC will now have to report on their emissions of these substances where they exceed the thresholds. The Agency is also planning at a future date to extend the inventory to require other processes it regulates, such as landfill sites and sewage treatment works, to report on their emissions in the same way.

The Agency has varied IPC authorisations to require information about emissions during 1998 to be provided in the new format. Where measured data are not available operators will be able to calculate or estimate their emissions. The Agency hopes to make the new emission database available in a searchable form on the Internet during the first half of 1999. The Agency has also announced that it is forming an advisory committee to advise on the development of the new database and keep the pollutants reported and thresholds under review.

I welcome the improvements the Agency is making to the Chemical Release Inventory. The timely provision of comprehensive emissions data in a readily accessible format is necessary to secure the public's right to know about environmental pollution. I particularly welcome the fact that emissions data will be collected on a consistent basis from all 2,000 IPC processes and that the Agency has made an early start by collecting this data for 1998.

450W