Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2018 to Question 131978, why incinerators are exempt from monitoring and reporting on emissions of PM 2.5 and of PM10, when other industries are required separately to monitor and report the incidence of such particles.

Waste incinerators are required to continuously monitor and report on emissions of total particulate matter (TPM) in line with the requirements of the European Industrial Emissions Directive. TPM includes PM10 and PM2.5 as well as other sizes. There is no commercially available equipment for the continuous monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 and therefore there are no requirements in permits to monitor and report on these emissions. Where appropriate, for reasons of air quality, the Environment Agency may require operators in industries it regulates to assess and report on particle size distribution.