§ Mr. PickthallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the Government's assessment of the relationship between rates of death and projected increases in incineration of waste. [126470]
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§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 20 June 2000]: A methodology for assessing the health impacts of air pollution (particles, sulphur dioxide and ozone) from industrial sources, including waste incinerators, is being considered by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP), which advises the Department of Health, and a full statement from COMEAP is expected in due course.
Emissions from incineration are already tightly controlled, and incinerators can now be designed to meet the standards in the forthcoming Waste Incineration Directive, which will further reduce emissions, for example reducing emissions of total dust by 67 per cent. and of dioxins by 99 per cent. An assessment of the health benefits of the tighter standards in the Waste Incineration Directive has been made by my Department for the regulatory and environmental impact assessment of the proposed Directive. The relevant consultants' reports are available in the House Library.