Ann Clwyd: ...used for industrial purposes. The land in question covers 150 acres, and is a prime flatland at the bottom of a valley; there are not many valleys with so much flatland. On that site there was a Phurnacite plant that produced smokeless fuel, and when I was first elected it was one of the worst industrial polluters in the whole of Britain. We managed to get it shut down. Then there was a...
Ann Clwyd: What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of redeveloping the former Phurnacite works in Abercwmboi; and if he will make a statement.
Ann Clwyd: ...in the valleys is that the environment has changed, partly because some of the older industries have gone but also because of the greater appreciation of the need for a good environment. The Phurnacite plant was in my constituency when I was first elected, for example. It had seven large chimneys that spewed smoke of different colours into the air. The health of the people living in the...
Ann Clwyd: ...hear."] I am grateful to him for that answer. As he knows, unemployment has been cut by half in the Cynon valley, but 88 acres of prime land in the centre of the valley were the site of the former Phurnacite plant, and contain a lot of toxic waste. Nearly 20 years after the closure of the plant, the development remains unfinished. When can the people of Abercwmboi expect that eyesore to...
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether ex-workers from the phurnacite coking works at Abercwmboi in the Cynon Valley are eligible to claim for bronchitis and emphysema under the Mineworkers' Compensation Scheme; and if she will make a statement.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will release records of dust levels recorded before 1991 at the phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi in the Cynon Valley.
Ann Clwyd: What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales about contaminated phurnacite land in the Cynon valley.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has discussed (a) the contaminated Phurnacite land in the Cynon Valley with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales and (b) action to be taken in respect of the land.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last discussed the future development of the former phurnacite plant site in the Cynon Valley with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales; and what conclusions were reached.
Ann Clwyd: What discussions he has had about disposal of waste from the former Phurnacite plant in the Cynon Valley with environmental authorities (a) inside and (b) outside Wales; and if he will make a statement. [114266]
Ann Clwyd: I hope that my right hon. Friend will discuss the former Phurnacite plant, as I have been talking about it ever since I was elected to Parliament. It was the worst industrial polluter in Britain when it closed down 10 years ago, and the toxic waste that was left is still on the doorsteps of the people of Abercwmboi. There is an impasse between the local authority and the Welsh development...
Ann Clwyd: ...for an independent inquiry, which is absolutely essential. If the Government do not grant such an inquiry, we can only assume that they have something to hide. I want to talk about the former phurnacite plant in my constituency, which closed in 1990. The site became derelict in 1992. There are some 88 acres of derelict land on which there are around 100,000 tonnes of highly toxic...
Ann Clwyd: ...to hear many entertaining and informative speeches from him over the years. I thank the Secretary of State for Wales—although I may look slightly amazed to be doing so—for his action over the phurnacite plant. People in Cynon Valley appreciate his having forced British Coal Products to go through the planning process. As he knows, we have put up with the pollution problems caused by...
Ann Clwyd: Before my hon. Friend leaves the subject of pollution, will he please not forget probably the worst industrial polluter left in Britain, the phurnacite plant in Abercwmboi in my constituency? Does he agree that if that plant were in the south-east of England it would have been shut long ago?
Ann Clwyd: ...would be rather special because they would be the species called phurnacitis narcissus. The narcissus is a pretty white flower, but in my constituency it is black because it is polluted by the Phurnacite plant. A recent environment programme on the BBC, the New Scientist and various journalists and organisations, have dubbed it the worst industrial polluter in Britain. The plant makes...
Ann Clwyd: ...that those problems require. Instead, we have been given a squeak, although even a squeak is welcome. The Cynon valley has one of the biggest environmental pollution problems in Britain—the Phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi. The loss of any jobs in the valley is to be deplored, and that plant provides 600 jobs. Since the coal dispute ended, the pollution from that plant has increased, but...
Ann Clwyd: ...Police Complaints Board during the strike. Indeed, today I received a letter from the board dealing with a complaint of mine against the police following an incident in my constituency outside the Phurnacite plant on 7 December 1984. There have been many comments in the press about that incident. It took six months for that complaint to be dealt with, and only after the Home Secretary...
Ann Clwyd: Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that prospects for reconciliation in the coal industry in south Wales would be greatly enhanced if the five men sacked from the Phurnacite plant in my constituency on the say-so of Mr. MacGregor were reinstated forthwith? Two of them were sacked for allegedly spitting at the one working miner among 6,000 in the constituency during the strike. Should they...
Ann Clwyd: ...very much a mining constituency. There are three pits in the valley, and miners also travel to work at 12 pits outside the valley. Thousands of jobs depend on coal, directly in the pits and in the Phurnacite smokeless fuel plant. Part of my constituency is bordered by the Brecon Beacons national park, and the spectacular scenery continues along the length of the valley. The great warmth...