As we have been considering the impact of the proposed incinerator in our area, there is a thought that is never away from our minds: the possibility of something going horribly wrong.
And yes, modern companies with cutting-edge technology do their best to minimise the possibility of an accident, but accidents do happen, some of them with horrible consequences like the recent BP saga in the US.
And today, this piece of news does nothing to make us feel better:
A fire at a waste disposal plant caused great upheaval in the Garforth area, a hotel has been evacuated and streets have been sealed off, in order to fight the blaze and prevent further damage.
The report today in the Yorkshire Evening Post makes an uncomfortable reading: it talks about a "smoke plume" and the possibility of water contamination.
Let's keep an eye on this issue. For the moment, think of the nearby residents who suffer, and the possibility of unforseen consequences of such accidents.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm091130/text/91130w0038.htm
ReplyDeleteIncinerators: Health Hazards
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on public health of emissions from a functioning incinerator; [302956]
(2) with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 17 September 2007, Official Report, column 2209W, on infant mortality: incineration, what recent assessment his Department has made of the correlation between the presence of a functioning incinerator and the incidence of infant mortality in that area. [302957]
Ann Keen: The Department has made no recent assessments of the effect on public health of emissions from incinerators, or the effects on infant mortality.
The health protection agency (HPA) recently reviewed the latest research on the impact on health of emissions to air from modern municipal waste incinerators and published a statement in September 2009. It concluded that, while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects completely, any potential damage from modern, well-run and regulated incinerators is likely to be so small that it would be undetectable.
So they are willing to take the risk, but then they don't have to do they; they don't live near to one of these plants, we are be being asked to live very near to three and possibly four of these plants.
Well said anonymous! and we are a much denser population than garforth. And that site only processes 60,000 tonnes a year. With the PFI plant and Biffa + the two existing incinerators at Knostrop we are looking at 100,000 tonnes a year MINIMUM.
ReplyDeleteWhy have HPA done U-turn?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2012PressReleases/120124Incineratorstudystatement/
http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/9450865.Javelin_Park_Investigation___Waste_fumes_linked_to_premature_deaths/
http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/9450915.Javelin_Park_Investigation___data_not_just_from_poorer_boroughs/
http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/9451010.Javelin_Park_Investigation___UK_plant_filters__let_particulates_through_/
http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/9450951.Javelin_Park_Investigation___Analysis/
http://ukhr.eu/incineration/Stroud_News%26Journal_maps.pdf
Michael Ryan,
Shrewsbury