HC Deb 15 October 2001 vol 372 cc1075-6W
Andrew Mackinlay

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the accepted background level of dioxins in the environment is; what the deemed safe level is; what levels the Environment Agency has found at the Cleanaway site in South Ockendon; and if she will make a statement. [4852]

Mr. Meacher

The levels of dioxins in the urban environment are, roughly:

  1. Air: 100 femtograms per cubic metre
  2. Soil: 30 nanograms per kilogram
  3. Water: dioxins do not dissolve well in water so very low
  4. River sediments: 20 nanograms per kilogram.

Most human exposure to dioxins is through food and currently average adult dietary intake is estimated to be 0.9 picograms per kilogram of body weight per day. This is within the WHO-recommended tolerable daily intake range (of 1 to 4 picograms per kilogram of body weight) and below the EC Scientific Committee on Food recommended tolerable weekly intake level (14 picograms per kilogram of body weight).

The Environment Agency has not carried out any analysis of dioxins at the Cleanaway site in South Ockendon.

  1. Notes:
  2. Nanogram—one thousand millionth of a gram (1 x 10-9g)
  3. Picogram—one million millionth of a grain (1 x 10-12g)
  4. Femtogram—one thousand million millionth of a gram (1 x 10-15g)

Andrew Mackinlay

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what information the Environment Agency has collated as to how much fly ash deposited in the past 20 years in the Cleanaway site at South Ockendon, and the extent to which this dumping regime involved the ash being(a) damped down on site and (b) drenched prior to its arrival; [4863]

(2) how much fly ash in the past 20 years was (a) used for creating on-site roads of tracks at the Cleanaway site in South Ockendon and (b) used as cover for each day's dumping at this site. [4864]

Mr. Meacher

Waste disposal sites operate under the terms of waste management licences and are subject to the controls set out in Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. The licence for each site sets out the types and quantities of waste which can be accepted for disposal at that site. The licence for the South Ockendon site is available for inspection on the public register which the Environment Agency is required to keep under section 64 of the 1990 Act.

The Agency has not separately collated information on the amount of fly ash deposited or used for on-site roads or cover at the South Ockendon site. I understand that consignments of mixed fly ash and bottom ash were consigned from the Edmonton municipal waste incinerator to the South Ockendon site under the terms of the site's licence; and were classified and recorded by the licence holder as industrial waste. The Agency states that the deposit of this mixed ash at the site ceased in December 1997.

The Environment Agency also states that the mixed ash from the Edmonton incinerator was drenched in water as it was produced. It is a condition of the licence for the South Ockendon site that Site roads shall, in dry weather, be sprayed with water to suppress dust.

The Environment Agency is carrying out a thorough investigation into the destinations of ash from municipal waste incinerators, the environmental implications of its use and what steps may be needed in the light of these findings. A report will be published by the Agency on completion of its investigation.