Hanson Cement Investigation Report Angela Jones on behalf of all contributors

1. Hanson Cement Investigation ReportAngela Jones on behalf of all contributors Presented by: Dr Roland SalmonRegional EpidemiologistPublic Health Wales 6 December 2011

2. The report • Summary - for community use • Background – why we did this • Methods – how we did this • Questions of concern – what we found (summaries of reports) • Recommendations – what we suggest for the future

3. Background • Concerns from local councils, request from Minister • Setting up investigation response team • Views of community actively sought • 87 “Questions of concern to local communities” • Identified deep rooted concerns from some but not all community members • Clarification and feedback of concerns

4. Methods • Grouping the concerns into environmental issues and health based queries • Following recognised methodology • Allocating concerns to those in IRT with expertise in each specific area for investigation • Detailed examination of all data available in both environmental and health categories

5. Reports • The reports from each group of technical specialists were presented to community representatives for dissemination to those the represent • Newsletters and media briefings of summarised results were sent out to inform the wider community

6. Environmental issues • Most of the time emissions have been within permitted emission limits for the site. • Breaches of the permit occurred in 2004 and 2008, which resulted in prosecutions. However, these incidents did not breach health safety levels. • Any impact on health would have been through the food chain, but local levels did not exceed health based standards as shown by environmental and food monitoring. • Air quality around the cement works has improved over the last 10 years. This mirrors improvements in the UK as a result of legislation to reduce emissions from industry and vehicles. • Complaints (some attributable to Hanson Cement) indicated some adverse impacts on well being and quality of life, but it is unlikely that levels of noise, coarse dust and odour would have affected physical health

7. Health issues – general health • Routine general health data showed health was as good or better in the areas around Hanson Cement than averages for Wales • There is no evidence of any the conditions studied occurring more frequently among younger people • There is no evidence of excess infant mortality in the area around the plant

8. Health issues – cancer • Routinely collected cancer data over 18 years showed rates of new diagnoses around the plant are similar to those of Wales and Flintshire • No evidence of cancer clusters or cancer types over time was found • One area, which included Hope, Caergwrle and Llanfyndd, had a level for all new cancer diagnoses which was higher than average for Wales in the time period 2004-2008. Much of this was due to an increase in bowel cancer in the time period analysed.

9. Conclusion • No convincing evidence was found that Hanson Cement harmed the local community’s health

10. Recommendations • Communication and engagement is improved between Hanson Cement, Public Agencies, Public Bodies and the local community in order to rebuild trust • That the monitoring and sampling strategy is reviewed by regulatory agencies • No further investigation into concerns relating to health effects is required unless new evidence comes to light

11. Feeding back the findings of the investigation Jackie JamesPrincipal Health Development SpecialistPublic Health Wales 6 December 2011

12. Next steps • Share the findings and recommendations of the investigation, and provide opportunities to engage with local people to ensure that the concerns identified have been addressed • confirm with community representatives that all the issues raised as concerns have been acknowledged and responded to • engage local community representatives in a dialogue about the findings, and obtain their views on the conclusions presented in the draft report • provide opportunities for questions about, and clarification of, the process of the investigation, including the potential constraints of the study

13. Timeline • Jan 2012: circulate Newsletter 5, including • the summary of investigation, its findings and recommendations • details of how the report can be obtained, and of planned opportunities to attend a presentation of the findings and recommendations • details of answerphone and email opportunities to receive questions about the report, and/or invite a representative to attend a meeting to discuss its findings

14. Timeline (continued) • Jan – Mar 2012: meet with community groups to present the findings of the investigation and to identify whether their concerns have been addressed • Mar 2012: collate issues that have arisen from the meetings with community groups, and consider amendments to the report to address these, where appropriate • End Mar 2012: Final Report is published

15. Contact details: • Email: general.enquiries@wales.nhs.uk • Answerphone: 01352 803686 • Post: Hanson Cement Investigation, Public Health Wales, Preswylfa, Hendy Road, Mold, Flintshire CH7 1PZ