Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that sufficient assessment of modern hazardous waste sites has been undertaken by the Health Protection Agency to enable understanding of the potential public health risks associated with such sites.

The former Health Protection Agency (HPA) became part of Public Health England (PHE) in April 2013.

In 2011, the HPA published a review of the ‘Impact on Health of Emissions from Landfill Sites’. This review included landfills for hazardous waste. The review considered research from the Environment Agency, peer reviewed epidemiological studies and statements from the independent expert committee, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer products and the Environment.

The review concluded that there has been no new evidence to change the previous advice that living close to a well-managed modern landfill site does not pose a significant risk to human health. As noted in the review, detailed site-specific risk assessment should remain an important part of the permitting and management process. PHE is consulted by the Environment Agency when they receive permit applications and variations for landfill sites, to ensure that public health is protected.