Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent research on the effects on levels of public health of emissions of (a) PM2.5, (b) PM1 and (c) PM0.1 from waste incinerators (i) he has undertaken and (ii) has formed the basis of an assessment of the implications for his policies.

Public Health England (PHE) has funded a study to further extend the evidence base on municipal waste incinerators (MWIs). The study found that emissions of particulate matter (PM₁₀) from MWIs are low and make only a small contribution to ambient background levels. The report is available at the following link:

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b06478

No evidence was found of a link between exposure to PM₁₀, which includes PM_2.5, PM₁ and PM_0.1 emitted from MWIs and infant mortality, or the other birth outcomes investigated. Further information is available at the following link:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.10.060

The latest paper found no increased risk of congenital anomalies from exposure to PM₁₀ emissions, however living closer to the incinerators was associated with a very small increase in risk of some birth defects. As acknowledged by the authors, this finding may be because the study could not fully adjust for factors such as other sources of pollution around MWIs or deprivation. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019308104

PHE’s position remains that well run and regulated modern MWIs are not a significant risk to public health. PHE will review its advice in light of new substantial research on the health effects of incinerators published in peer reviewed journals. To date, PHE is not aware of any evidence that requires a change in their position statement. This statement can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/municipal-waste-incinerator-emissions-to-air-impact-on-health