Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate the Food Standards Agency has made of the risk of lead contamination in (a) silage and (b) animal feed produced on floodplains downstream of historical lead mining sites.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is planning to review dietary lead as part of its rolling programme of risk analysis of environmental contaminants in food. This will include consideration of areas where exposure is likely to be higher. Scoping work has started, including considering what, if any, additional evidence and data may be required.

The FSA has not undertaken a specific estimation of the risk of lead contamination in silage or animal feed. However, in conjunction with the National Farmers Union, the FSA has provided advice to farmers to mitigate against lead entering the food chain, and how to avoid lead contamination. In addition, maximum levels for undesirable substances in products intended for animal feed have been established in Schedule 4 of the Animal Feed (Composition, Marketing and Use) (England) Regulations 2015, with further information on the regulations available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/255/schedule/4

This includes levels for lead in feed materials and forage, which includes hay and silage. Any product which exceeds these limits is not permitted to be placed on the market. These regulations are enforced by local authorities. Under animal feed legislation, feed businesses, which include farmers, are responsible for making sure the feed they produce is safe for the animals it is intended for.

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. They have the duty to inspect their areas to identify contaminated land. This would cover situations where lead is washed from rivers or sediments onto floodplains or where existing lead contamination on land is impacted by flooding. Lead may be discharged into rivers from abandoned metal mines and the Environment Agency is working with the Coal Authority under the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme to identify and tackle the priority discharges.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Food Standards Agency is taking to (a) assess and (b) mitigate the risk of lead contamination in (i) allotments and (ii) other food growing areas located on floodplains downstream of historical lead mines.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is planning to review dietary lead as part of its rolling programme of risk analysis of environmental contaminants in food. This will include consideration of areas where exposure is likely to be higher. Scoping work has started, including considering what, if any, additional evidence and data may be required.

The FSA has not undertaken a specific estimation of the risk of lead contamination in silage or animal feed. However, in conjunction with the National Farmers Union, the FSA has provided advice to farmers to mitigate against lead entering the food chain, and how to avoid lead contamination. In addition, maximum levels for undesirable substances in products intended for animal feed have been established in Schedule 4 of the Animal Feed (Composition, Marketing and Use) (England) Regulations 2015, with further information on the regulations available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/255/schedule/4

This includes levels for lead in feed materials and forage, which includes hay and silage. Any product which exceeds these limits is not permitted to be placed on the market. These regulations are enforced by local authorities. Under animal feed legislation, feed businesses, which include farmers, are responsible for making sure the feed they produce is safe for the animals it is intended for.

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. They have the duty to inspect their areas to identify contaminated land. This would cover situations where lead is washed from rivers or sediments onto floodplains or where existing lead contamination on land is impacted by flooding. Lead may be discharged into rivers from abandoned metal mines and the Environment Agency is working with the Coal Authority under the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme to identify and tackle the priority discharges.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Food Standards Agency's planned review of dietary lead will consider the extent of contamination up to 100 kilometres downstream of historical lead mining sites.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is planning to review dietary lead as part of its rolling programme of risk analysis of environmental contaminants in food. This will include consideration of areas where exposure is likely to be higher. Scoping work has started, including considering what, if any, additional evidence and data may be required.

The FSA has not undertaken a specific estimation of the risk of lead contamination in silage or animal feed. However, in conjunction with the National Farmers Union, the FSA has provided advice to farmers to mitigate against lead entering the food chain, and how to avoid lead contamination. In addition, maximum levels for undesirable substances in products intended for animal feed have been established in Schedule 4 of the Animal Feed (Composition, Marketing and Use) (England) Regulations 2015, with further information on the regulations available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/255/schedule/4

This includes levels for lead in feed materials and forage, which includes hay and silage. Any product which exceeds these limits is not permitted to be placed on the market. These regulations are enforced by local authorities. Under animal feed legislation, feed businesses, which include farmers, are responsible for making sure the feed they produce is safe for the animals it is intended for.

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. They have the duty to inspect their areas to identify contaminated land. This would cover situations where lead is washed from rivers or sediments onto floodplains or where existing lead contamination on land is impacted by flooding. Lead may be discharged into rivers from abandoned metal mines and the Environment Agency is working with the Coal Authority under the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme to identify and tackle the priority discharges.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his department has made of the potential changes to the level of risk of lead contamination from flooding events due to climate change in areas downstream of historical lead mines.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Environment Agency (EA) monitoring indicates that climate change could potentially increase the mass (kg/day) of metals washed into rivers from historic metal mines. Erosion of spoil heaps during storm events can increase the mobilisation of metals into rivers and re-suspend metal-rich sediments previously deposited in river channels.

For example, on average 127 tonnes of zinc and 40 tonnes of lead enters the Tyne estuary annually (all from abandoned metal mines); however, 50% of this zinc and 80% of this lead flows into the estuary during the highest 5% of river flows. However, while the mass of metals washed into rivers increases in storm events, the severity of water pollution (metal concentrations in mg/l) may decrease due to dilution.

In flood events these metals can be washed onto floodplains, causing land contamination. Climate change is expected to increase the risk of floodplains downstream from historic mining sites being contaminated by flooding.

Through the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme - a partnership between Defra, the EA and the Coal Authority – the Government is taking action to develop mine water treatment schemes and diffuse interventions to prevent metals from abandoned metal mines, including lead, from entering local river systems.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to update its policy guidance on metal mine pollution to reflect the primary risk from sediment contamination in river channels and floodplains.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There is no specific policy guidance on metal mine pollution. The Environment Agency (EA) considers the primary risk from abandoned metal mines to be pollution of rivers and estuaries, with around 1,500km of rivers polluted by metals. The government has a long-term statutory target to halve the length of rivers polluted by six target substances from abandoned metal mines by 31 December 2038. The six target substances which pose the greatest threat to, or via the aquatic environment are cadmium, lead, nickel, zinc, copper, and arsenic.

Through the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme - a partnership between Defra, the EA and the Coal Authority - government is taking action to develop mine water treatment schemes and diffuse interventions to prevent metals from abandoned metal mines and metal mine waste heaps from entering local river systems.

Where contamination from abandoned metal mines impacts land rather than water then this is covered by the Government’s policy on land contamination including the Land Contamination Risk Management Framework which sets out the approach on how to assess and manage risks from land contamination and the statutory contaminated land regime (Part 2A of the Environment Act 1990, supporting Regulations and Statutory Guidance).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the extent of sediment-associated lead contamination in (a) river channels and (b) floodplains downstream of historical lead mines; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Environment Agency's focus on water pollution in addressing this risk.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In 2008, the Environment Agency (EA) published the report: Assessment of metal mining contaminated river sediments in England and Wales - GOV.UK. The report brought together all available information on metal concentrations in river sediments, riverbanks and floodplain soils downstream of abandoned metal mines. This confirmed:

• The long history of metal mining in England has contaminated sediments in rivers, estuaries and lakes, as well as floodplain soils with a range of metals, particularly lead, cadmium, zinc and copper.
• Although metal discharges were greater during the peak period of active mining in the nineteenth century, inputs of dissolved and particulate metals still occur. Past discharges have left a reservoir of highly contaminated sediments in lowland rivers many kilometres downstream of the mines.
• This metal contamination may pose a risk to aquatic wildlife and agriculture, but the report did not assess these risks.

Through Defra’s Water and Abandoned Metal Mines (WAMM) Programme, the EA is working with the Coal Authority to tackle water pollution from abandoned metal mines. The government has a legally binding target to halve the length of rivers polluted by metals, including lead, from abandoned metal mines by 2038. Through diffuse interventions and treatment schemes, WAMM has already improved water quality in ~100 km of rivers.

Local Authorities are responsible for identifying contaminated land under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This includes where floodplains exist downstream of historic lead mines if lead washed out of rivers is causing an unacceptable risk to people, crops, or livestock.

Defra recently commissioned the EA to produce another State of Contaminated Land Report. The EA will seek to include additional questions in this desk-based survey to find out if Local Councils are assessing contaminated land risks downstream of historical lead mines.