Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 4 March 2020.
In the last few weeks, I've organised a public meeting in Taibach in Port Talbot with the British Lung Foundation. There, I talked to many residents about the concerns that they have with dust in Port Talbot, and I understand that Tata has plans for a new chimney stack and other elements to replace the current 40-year-old extraction system from the sinter plant.
So, I'm wanting to understand what conversations you as Minister have had with Tata in relation to them changing their initiatives in this regard to make it more environmentally friendly for the people living in and around the steel plant. What was widely told to me in that public meeting was they would welcome—as you said to Hefin David—more public engagement opportunities so that they can understand exactly what these types of issues are, and how they can relay this in a way that they understand.
We all talk here of PM10s, PM2.5s, but we have to normalise what these issues are about so people understand how severe they are when they do actually go into people's lungs and they do affect their everyday lives. So, would you commit to also a public information campaign so that people across Wales are aware of the dangers in relation to air pollution, and how then the Act that you're going to put forward in relation to this matter can then mean something to them in their everyday lives?