§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research has been conducted into the impact on the environment of the production and disposal of PVC-u; and what chemicals may be released(a) upon disposal and (b) during production. [119087]
§ Mr. MorleyA number of studies into the impact of PVC-u on the environment have been carried out including:
The Behaviour of PVC in Landfill", for the European Commission DGXI (2000);PVC: An Evaluation Using the Natural Step Framework", The Natural Step (2000); andThe Life Cycle Assessment of PVC and Alternatives", for the ex- Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (2000).The European Commission is currently conducting a rigorous assessment of all published PVC life-cycle studies to ensure the availability of sound data on which 288W
Bovine TB in Cumbria, 1998–2002 New herd incidents New confirmed herd incidents 1998 8 0 1999 9 1 2000 4 1 2001 2 0 2002 33 6 Note:
In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also, the proportion of high-risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. This includes herds restocked post-FMD where additional testing is being carried out to manage the increased risk posed by the movement of infected cattle into re-formed herds. As a result, the number of new herd incidents in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.