§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the sites which have received ash from the Edmonton incinerator since 1996, for use(a) in building bricks, blocks, paving stones and other building materials, (b) in public and private roads and streets, (c) in compost, potting soil, growing medium or fertiliser and (d) on farms, livestock/poultry holding sites and feedstuffs companies. [155314]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 26 March 2001]: Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 imposes a duty of care on waste producers and others who have control of waste. The parties to the transfer of waste are required to keep records but information on waste transfers is not held centrally. The information available to the Environment Agency indicates that bottom ash has been consigned from the Edmonton incinerator to Ballast Phoenix Ltd. for recycling as a secondary aggregate but that ash is not otherwise consigned from the incinerator for use in (a), (b), (c) or (d).
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Environment Agency requested that the mixing of fly ash and bottom ash at Edmonton be stopped; when the mixing was halted; what assessment has been made of(a) the increase in and (b) toxicity of dioxin concentrations in the mixed ash; and if the toxicity falls within the range observed in urban soils. [155377]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 23 March 2001]: The Environment Agency advises that it has made no such request but confirms that it was informed by the operator of the Edmonton incinerator that the mixing of precipitator ash with bottom ash ceased in August 2000. The Environment Agency has no information on the toxicity of dioxin concentrations in ash mixed before that date. However, the Agency was informed by the operator that test results showed the dioxin levels of mixed ash to be close to background levels (i.e. those found in normal urban soil).
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the studies carried out into dioxin and furan levels in and around the Byker incinerator. [155379]
567W
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 23 March 2001]: The Environment Agency monitors combined dioxin and furan releases from the combustion process at the Byker Heat Station, details of which are available on the public register and the Agency website. Monitoring of local air quality outside the Byker site is the responsibility of the appropriate local authority.