How will air pollution from an incinerator near Stonehouse be monitored? A report backed by a cross-party group of MPs put the issue in the spotlight this week.

Operators of existing incinerators across the UK are failing to properly report emissions, according to research by an anti-incineration group launched in Parliament on Tuesday, July 17.

And one of the MPs backing the report was David Drew of Stroud, a constituency with an incinerator being built within its boundary - at Javelin Park off of the M5.

The concerns raised by the UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) involve two particular kinds of particulate matter (PM): PM10 and PM2.5, with the numbers indicating average diameter in micrometres.

UKWIN claims that operators are ignoring official guidance from the Environment Agency - the regulator for incinerator sites - when it comes to monitoring PM10 and PM2.5, and are not checking if levels are above the recommended level.

But there is one problem: there is no way to directly measure these particulates, something the Environment Agency admits.

“There is currently no commercially available equipment to continuously monitor PM10 and PM2.5 emissions specifically but estimates can be made based on the TPM,” a spokesperson from the Agency said in response to the report.

So UKWIN took things into its own hands, estimating PM10 and PM2.5 levels using the proxy recommended by the Environment Agency, and the group found that over 35 incinerators across the UK are above the reporting thresholds.

Since, the Environment Agency has said its updating its guidance and will require incinerators to submit such estimates.

But for Mr Drew, who is also a Labour shadow minister for the environment, the report was enough for him call on the Government to pause the building of any new incinerators.

“With work now well underway at Javelin Park incinerator in Gloucestershire, this detailed analysis of air pollution from incinerators makes worrying reading,” he said off the back of the report.

“Not only is Javelin Park economically unviable, I am concerned that we do not know how much incineration is seriously affecting the quality of the air we breathe.”

“This report shows that the mechanism for monitoring air pollution from incinerators is itself inadequate. The levels of emissions of PM have not been report adequately for decades because of regulation loopholes.”

Despite Mr Drew’s concern, the Environment Agency underlined its confidence in the safety of the incinerators it watches over.

“Most incinerators emit particulate matter at a fraction of their permitted limits,” the spokesperson also said.

“Permits are only issued for new incinerators if the Environment Agency and Public Health England are satisfied that the plant will not cause harm to human health or the environment.”

Such confidence was also echoed by members of Gloucestershire County Council, which is behind the incinerator near Stonehouse being built by Urbaser Balfour Beatty under a £500m contract.

Cllr Nigel Moor. cabinet member responsible for waste at the council, said: “Public Health England’s position remains that ‘well run and regulated modern municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health’ and the facility at Javelin Park will be licensed and regularly inspected by the Environment Agency."

Nonetheless, Mr Drew insisted there are better alternatives.

“The concerns about air quality are yet another reason why we should be moving away from incineration which has been shown to reduce recycling rates and has no environmental benefit.”