Mark Garnier MP today handed the petition sponsored by the Wyre Forest Green Party over to the Rt Hon Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
The petition, which gathered 500 signatures, was collected in response to the recent fire at the Forge Recycling Centre in Kidderminster. It was recently presented to Mark Garnier by the Green Party's parliamentary spokesman Stephen Brown and Phil Oliver from the Wyre Forest Friends of the Earth. It calls for authorities to test for dioxins and PCBs which may have potentially been released during the course of the fire.
Mark Garnier MP said: "I am pleased that Wyre Forest District Council responded swiftly to my calls for testing for dioxins and PCBs within days of my first meeting with them. This was originally raised by Stephen Brown and the petition demonstrates the widespread concern by residents over the pollution created by the fire and its continued smouldering.
"A fire such as this is bad for a range of reasons and any solution can only be the least worse option. In that respect, it is vital that the authorities look at the challenging balance of risks that see allowing the fire to slowly smoulder against the potential for poisoning the water supply for millions of residents downstream of Stourport who rely on the River Severn for their water supply.
"It is completely understandable that residents are concerned about air pollutants and any toxic fallout from the fire. The various bodies responsible for public safety and health have assured me that any risk is negligible, and is being kept to a minimum. In the meantime, I continue to monitor progress on behalf of residents."