CEMFUEL has been given a clean bill of health by the Government - but a local MP says fears about the burning of hazardous waste in the Ribble Valley will not go away.

In a long-awaited response to the report of the Environment Select Committee on the burning of fuels, the Government concludes that the fuel is safe and can be burned without harming human or animal life.

But Pendle MP Gordon Prentice, who says his constituency is affected by the proximity of Castle Cement in Clitheroe where Cemfuel is used, says the concerns of residents living around the plant are still great.

Councillors, officers and MPs have won a public hearing into stringent time-scales and regulations which environment watchdogs have imposed on Castle to try to clean up the plume-grounding problem.

Mr Prentice, who chairs the Parliamentary Labour Party's Environment Departmental Committee, said: "The concerns of the people living around Castle Cement need to be tackled head-on.

"I hope the public inquiry will allow everyone's concerns to be ventilated and addressed. "The select committee called on the Government to carry out a thorough survey of human and animal health in the vicinity of the kilns.

"The Government has taken the view that the information it already has to hand proves conclusively that there is no threat to health.

"Complete openess and transparency is the only way forward.

"I shall be watching development very closely over the coming months and be meeting representatives of the cement industry to build confidence and ensure we understand each other."

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