Liberal Democrat Conference To Debate Curbs on Cement Kilns Waste (Kenilworth and Southam Liberal Democrats)

Liberal Democrat Conference To Debate Curbs on Cement Kilns Waste

September 17, 2004 4:00 PM

At the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth next week, Councillor Chris Holman (Rugby Caldecott) will be proposing an amendment to Policy Motion F20 on Hazardous Waste on behalf of the Rugby & Kenilworth Liberal Democrats.

The debate will be at 9.00 a.m. on Tuesday 21st September.

The amendment will replace the original clause 3 and add a further clause 4 to the Motion, which calls on the Government to -

"3 Ensure that cement kilns will not be used to dispose of hazardous waste unless there is clear evidence that they can meet the highest environmental standards achieved by specialist hazardous waste management facilities.

4 Apply the precautionary principle by preventing the use of hazardous waste in cement kilns that are in close proximity to residential areas until such time as there is clear evidence and scientific consensus that there are no health risks to neighbouring populations."

Chris Holman said:

"The original clause was a bit weak and I felt it needed beefing up. Because there is a very big question mark over whether cement kilns are suitable for disposal of hazardous waste."

He concluded :

"Our amendment has been accepted as a friendly amendment by the Proposer of the Motion, Sue Doughty, MP for Guildford"

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Cement kilns operate with lower environmental standards then are achieved by specialist hazardous waste management facilities.

Cement kilns are inherently operationally unstable - it is normal for them to trip (shutdown unexpectedly) nearly every week. Rugby Cement's own statistics show this.

emission levels during the transitional periods of shutting down and starting up can be 100's or 1000's times higher than during normal operation.

Emission levels during the transitional periods are not measured and so are not considered as part of the total environmental impact of the plant.

Hazardous waste used in cement kilns is not limited to fuel substitutes but also include other inert raw materials used in the cement making process such as Pulverised Fuel Ash waste from coal fired power stations which is classified as hazardous because of the level of its radioactivity, albeit at a relatively low level.

Kenilworth and Southam Liberal Democrats