On the day that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) publish their annual report, Friends of the Earth (FOE) has highlighted the major failings of the Agency and their fears for the future of pollution regulation following the establishment of the new Environment Agency which will take over from HMIP.

The issue of hazardous waste burning by the cement Industry has brought communities across the country into direct contact with HMIP on an unprecedented scale and has provoked widespread dissatisfaction with their quality of monitoring, secretive assessment and lack of public accountablility. After radioactive waste disposal, this issue is now the most controversial on HMIP's agenda. A special inquiry by the House of Commons Environment Committee in June highlighted the following failings:

failure to adequately consult with and listen to views of the public failure to collect adequate and meaningful data to assess trials failure to monitor worst scenarios' and times of malfunctions in cement kilns.

Roger Lilley, Friends of the Earth's Industry and Pollution Campaigner, said today:

"The furore over the cement industry has raised serious questions about H.M.I.P.'s credibility as a competent regulator whose prime concern is to protect the public interest. It is totally unacceptable that the public should have to shoulder the burden of policing and monitoring British industry because of the inadequate resources given to HMIP by the Government."

Last year Friends of the Earth published a damning critique of HMIP's failings. Following a series of requests from Friends of the Earth for information, Dr. Slater, HMIP's chief admitted that the inspectorate's HMIP's "record on ... correspondence with you [Friends of the Earth] is poor".

Roger Lilley continued:

"Neither HMIP nor the new Environment Agency will gain the respect of the public unless they provide all relevant environmental information to the public and resist the pressure from industry for greater secrecy."

ENDS