3 months ago
23
Implementing a new law to ensure greater transparency over contaminated land has been adopted as Green Party policy.
The law is named after Zane Gbangbola, a seven-year-old boy whose parents say was killed by gas from landfill when the River Thames flooded in Surrey in 2014.
Zane's Law calls for measures including that councils keep public registers of contaminated sites.
A motion moved by Green Party peer, Baroness Natalie Bennett, was backed at the party conference on Saturday.
“Current UK regulations on contaminated land pose a threat to human life and welfare," she said.
Zane's parents, Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler, say their son was killed by toxic hydrogen cyanide gas from a former waste dump. Mr Gbangbola was left paralysed by the same incident.
The couple have said when they bought their Chertsey house, no environmental searches identified the field behind the property was former landfill, and this only came to light after Zane had died.
An inquest concluded Zane was killed by carbon monoxide from a petrol pump used to clear floodwater from his home in Thameside, but Mr Gbangbola and Ms Lawler say the pump was not used.
They accessed public health documents that stated firefighters found hydrogen cyanide in their home, but no carbon monoxide.
Since then, the family have campaigned for legislation to provide greater transparency over contaminated land, named after their son.
Several councils have already voted to support Zane's Law including Lewes District Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and Adur District Council.
