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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on public health of toxic air from landfill sites.

Operators of landfill sites are required to apply to the Environment Agency (EA) for an Environmental Permit before operations can commence. During the application process the EA assesses the impact of emissions to air from landfills on the environment and human health. The EA also assesses emissions during routine check monitoring and in response to specific incidents.

Whenever there are concerns over potential impacts on human health the relevant data is forwarded to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as the Government body responsible for protecting the health of communities. The predecessor to UKHSA, the Health Protection Agency, published advice in 2011 on the impacts on health of emissions from landfill sites. The report concluded that a well-managed modern landfill site does not pose a significant risk to human health. This advice remains consistent with the research sponsored by Defra in 2004, which was reviewed by the Royal Society. The UKHSA works with the EA to ensure that individual landfill sites do not contribute significantly to ill-health.