What action will be taken to "cut particulate matter pollution" from incinerators and if no action is proposed, what evidence has Defra seen that proves no harm to health from incinerator emissions?

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

"Defra will seek to ‘progressively’ cut public exposure to particulate matter pollution as suggested by the World Health Organisation. This includes a pledge to halve the population living in areas with concentrations of fine particulate matter above WHO guideline levels (10 μg/m3) by 2025."

https://www.airqualitynews.com/2018/05/2...

Mr Gove's letter in today's Guardian made no mention of pollution from incinerators:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/...

nor of the still-unpublished incinerator/infant mortality study that was first promised over seven years ago:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/243962...

Incinerators:Written question - 144246
Asked by Daniel Kawczynski
(Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Asked on: 15 May 2018
Department of Health and Social Care
Incinerators
144246
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date the study on incinerators by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit is planned to be published.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publi...

Successive governments have known for many years that air pollution, and not poverty, is causing higher death rates as explained in my November 2017 EFRA submission:

http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidenc...

Earlier submissions I've made to the EFRA Committee referred to pollution from the Ironbridge Power Station.
o
UK academics who read about how closing coal and oil power plants 'leads to healthier babies' (Independent, 23 May 2018) should examine how infant mortality rates always vary with exposure to air pollution and then explain the simple facts of death to politicians who seem unable to confront the truth..

The closure of the Ironbridge Power Station in October 2015 was followed by a sixty-five percent reduction in Telford & Wrekin's infant mortality rate from 6.8 per 1,000 live births in 2015 to 2.4 per 1,000 in 2016.
There wasn't a massive upgrade in socioeconomic status, just cleaner air.

Shropshire could have been a world-leader in air pollution research, but ignored pollution three hundred years ago and that attitude has continued throughout the UK.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/loca...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news...

Yours faithfully,

Michael Ryan

Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Thank you for your email. We have a target of replying to emails within 15
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case is handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If you need a reply before
then, please call the Defra Helpline on 03459 33 55 77, or visit
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Best wishes,
Ministerial Contact Unit
 
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Morgan, Steve L (Defra), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dear Mr Ryan
 
I am responding to your enquiry of 25 May concerning the health effects of
emissions from municipal waste incinerators.  Your enquiry has been dealt
with as a routine request for information.
The Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England) first issued a
statement giving advice on health issues from municipal waste incinerators
in November 2005.   More research has since been carried out and in 2009
PHE issued a  position statement on the impact on health of emissions to
air from municipal waste incinerators, which is reproduced in the
‘[1]Impact on Health of Emissions to Air from Municipal Waste Incinerators
- RCE 13’ report.
The Government is guided on the health effects of Energy from Waste (EfW )
plants by Public Health England (PHE). Its position is that well run and
regulated modern municipal EfW plants are not a significant risk to public
health. Thanks to the growing evidence base, including the work by the
Royal College of Physicians, the population effects of air pollution are
now increasingly quantifiable for some of the key pollutants.  This has
allowed the resulting burden of disease to be assessed for public health
policy purposes and has driven the development and implementation of new
international and European commitments to reduce air pollution
PHE will continue to review its advice in light of new substantial
research on the health effects of incinerators published in peer reviewed
journals. We understand that, at the present time, PHE has not been made
aware of any evidence that requires a change in their position statement.
Yours sincerely
STEVE MORGAN
Air Quality Industrial Emissions Team
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ground Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
 
 
 
 

show quoted sections

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs's handling of my FOI request 'What action will be taken to "cut particulate matter pollution" from incinerators and if no action is proposed, what evidence has Defra seen that proves no harm to health from incinerator emissions?'.

I should be grateful if an internal review could be carried out as the response given fails to deal with the questions asked.

Defra cannot assume that incinerators emit zero particulates and an opinion that there's little or no risk to health from incinerators isn't evidence.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

Yours faithfully,

Michael Ryan

Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Thank you for your email. We have a target of replying to emails within 15
working days where a response is required, and 20 working days where a
case is handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If you need a reply before
then, please call the Defra Helpline on 03459 33 55 77, or visit
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....
We often receive thousands of identical emails each month from organised
campaigns. Ministers and officials are made aware of these campaigns, but
unfortunately we cannot reply to each email when such large volumes are
received.
Best wishes,
Ministerial Contact Unit
 
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) This email and
any attachments is intended for the named recipient only. If you have
received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose, store or copy
any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems. Communications on Defra's computer systems
may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the
system and for other lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Chapinal, Paul (Defra), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dear Mr Ryan,
Thank you for your email of 15 June regarding an internal review of your
request for information. 
 
Your original request was dealt with outside of the freedom of information
as a routine request for information. We have looked into your second
request and I’m afraid that we cannot add to the original reply sent you
on 6 June by my colleague Steve Morgan.
 
The response on 6 June was based on information and analysis that Public
Health England (PHE) developed and produced.  However it is not Defra
commissioned research or analysis.
 
If you would like further information about PHE’s research methods and
conclusions I would suggest that you contact them direct at
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....
Yours sincerely,
 
Paul Chapinal
 
Paul Chapinal I Residual Waste Team I Environmental Quality I Area 2B I
Nobel House I London I SW1P 3JR
Tel: 020 8026 3845
 
 
 
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) This email and
any attachments is intended for the named recipient only. If you have
received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose, store or copy
any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems. Communications on Defra's computer systems
may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the
system and for other lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...