Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance he provides to local authorities for testing land in proximity to former lead mining sites; and whether he is taking steps to inform (a) residents and (b) those involved in domestic food production of potential risk in affected areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are a variety of resources available to local authorities in regard to testing potentially contaminated land.
The Interdepartmental Committee on the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land (ICRCL) issued guidance on The Restoration and Aftercare of Metalliferous Mining Sites for Pasture and Grazing in 1990 (ICRCL 70/90). Although outdated, parts are still relevant due to the focus on the risks to plants and livestock grazing. The Environment Agency have since taken on the role of issuing technical guidance.
The current overarching guidance on managing risks for land contamination is found in Land Contamination Risk Management (LRCM). This sets out the 3-stage approach for managing all risks from land contamination including the first stage of risk assessment.
This work is supplemented by additional guidance such as the Sewage sludge in agriculture: code of practice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) which deals with risks to crops, livestock, and consumers from trace elements in soil. Other guidance such as the Environment Agency’s Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment (CLEA) Software Model, and C4SL project issued by CL:AIRE provide detailed guidance in other areas, and the Food Standards Agency also play an important role in terms of the potential introduction of contaminants into the food chain.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not have a specific statutory role in relation to contaminated land but plays an advisory role in the overall health risk assessment process. UKHSA may be asked for support by local authorities in providing public health advice to their communities.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of recent flooding on areas with historical levels of lead contamination.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The impact of flooding on areas of land with historical levels of lead contamination is a matter for local councils to consider under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Local councils have the duty to inspect their areas to identify contaminated land including land contaminated by lead. In the context of flooding, this would cover situations where lead is washed from rivers or sediments onto floodplains or existing lead contamination on land is impacted by flooding.
The Environment Agency (EA) does have a role in tackling water pollution, including pollution from metals. Discharges from abandoned metal mines are one the main sources of metals in our rivers, polluting around 1,500kms (around 3% of English Rivers). In 2023, a target was set to reduce the length of rivers polluted by metals from abandoned metal mines by half by 2038. Lead is one of the 6 target metals. The EA are working with the Coal Authority under Defra’s Water and Abandoned Metal Mines (WAMM) Programme to identify and tackle the priority discharges.
So far 140 tonnes of target metals have been prevented from entering rivers through diffuse interventions and treatment schemes, but a 10-fold increase will be required in the WAMM Programme to meet the statutory target by 2038.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of food samples tested for lead contamination per year by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The levels of lead testing in the United Kingdom are determined in accordance with legislative requirements which provide food safety assurances to both domestic consumers as well as export markets. Sampling levels are reviewed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) each year to ensure that they are proportionate to livestock production; of note, the VMD has effectively tripled annual lead testing for sheep and bovine animals from 2024 to provide further guarantees on safety of these foodstuffs. The results of said testing are published by VMD on a quarterly basis and can be found on the VMD’s GOV.UK webpage here.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Food Standards Agency and (b) Committee on Toxicity on the potential risks of lead contamination in the UK food chain.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra officials and Ministers have regular meetings with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) where a range of issues are discussed and I last met with Professor Susan Jebb on 5 September. Ministers have had no specific discussions on this with the Committee on Toxicity or the FSA.