GUILDFORD MP SLAMS GOVERNMENT CLAIMS THAT REPORT GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO INCINERATION

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 18th May 2004

Following Government claims that a report commissioned by DEFRA on the health and environmental impacts of different waste management options shows incineration is safe, Sue Doughty MP said:

"The Government's claim that the report shows it is safe for us to start building a new generation of incineration is an appalling attempt to spin the science. Having had the opportunity to study the data the report relied on, it turns out to be an exercise in uncertainty.

"The report is basically a data review, not new research. It highlights inherent uncertainties in the measuring techniques for dioxins that could lead to serious underestimates of emissions. The Royal Society was asked to provide a scientific peer review and commented that the uncertainties made the report of limited use to local authorities.

"A major oversight is the failure to make use of new continuous monitoring technology for detection of dioxins. Instead this report has only looked at unreliable data from biannual measures. Continuous monitoring equipment, which is now mandatory in Belgium, can show dioxin levels between 30 and 50 times higher than the outdated techniques the Government has relied on.

"The report has nothing to say about the main argument against incinerators - that throughout their 30 year life they block growth in recycling and progress on waste reduction because local authorities are bound into a contract requiring them to provide the operators with a continuous stream of waste to burn."