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

To ask His Majesty's Government when the range of contaminants monitored at sea disposal sites was last updated; and whether there is a programme to update the range of monitored contaminants.

The range of contaminants monitored at sea disposal sites is not a standardised list. Rather, the choice of which contaminants to monitor is based on a review of each year’s licenced disposals and considering the OSPAR Guidelines for the Management of Dredged Material at Sea (Agreement 2014-06. Updated 2024). Primary List contaminants (Technical Annex I) may be analysed for at disposal sites while Secondary List contaminants can also sometimes be analysed for. Monitoring also adheres to the OSPAR Coordinated Environment Monitoring Programme Guidelines for the assessment of dumping and placement of waste and other matter at sea (Agreement 2017-04). Other analyses such as benthic infauna and bathymetry surveys may also be undertaken, as appropriate.