Waste incinerator company in emission safety breaches, 28 July
by Gordon Thomson, Evening Times,
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/waste-incinerator-company-in-emission-safety-breaches-1.1044212
Campaigners with Dovesdale Action Group are fighting plans for a £50m waste disposal unit
A company that wants to build a controversial waste disposal incinerator in Lanarkshire has repeatedly broken safe emission levels at another site.
ScotGen officials have admitted 52 breaches since opening a waste disposal site at Dumfries.
It began burning council waste in December but was closed in January and February this year before operations began again in March.
Under a self-reporting scheme, ScotGen must inform the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) of any breaches. By the end of June, there were 52. The firm confirmed today that 24 breaches involved excessive emissions of carbon monoxide which, as well as nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds, can affect people with health problems.
A Sepa spokeswoman said: “There have been isolated cases, particularly in the early days, when a breach occurred for two hours.”
But she added: “The emission limit value breaches were of short duration. In the vast majority of cases, emission limits were breached for just a few minutes.
“During commissioning, it is not unexpected there will be technical breaches of the permit conditions while the plant is ‘bedding in’ and the control programming is fine-tuned. Deviation of a single parameter can have a knock-on effect.”
Campaigners are against ScotGen’s plans to build an incinerator at Dovesdale Farm, Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire. Celia Tennant, of the Dovesdale Action Group, said: “These figures support our fears that there are no guarantees of safety.
“As the Dovesdale development would be twice the size of the Dumfries plant, most assumptions would be that would mean twice as many reported incidents. It would only take one incident or one release to do real damage.”
ScotGen’s project manager Lloyd Brotherton said no risks were posed by the breaches.
The firm wants to spend £50 million on an incinerator that would burn household and industrial waste and generate enough green energy to power 90,000 homes and create 50 jobs.
It would also handle “hazardous” materials, but the company denies claims they plan a “toxic waste incinerator”.
Mr Brotherton said most of the breaches were the result of plant commissioning, adding: “We are obliged to make Sepa aware of each breach under a self-reporting system but there were no risks to the environment. It is something that has been confined to within the boundaries of the plant.”
Despite repeated claims he has snubbed local residents, Mr Brotherton justified his talk with local farmers by insisting: “It was not a public meeting. We don’t attend public meetings. But we do meet with interested parties.”
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/waste-incinerator-company-in-emission-safety-breaches-1.1044212
Campaigners with Dovesdale Action Group are fighting plans for a £50m waste disposal unit
A company that wants to build a controversial waste disposal incinerator in Lanarkshire has repeatedly broken safe emission levels at another site.
ScotGen officials have admitted 52 breaches since opening a waste disposal site at Dumfries.
It began burning council waste in December but was closed in January and February this year before operations began again in March.
Under a self-reporting scheme, ScotGen must inform the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) of any breaches. By the end of June, there were 52. The firm confirmed today that 24 breaches involved excessive emissions of carbon monoxide which, as well as nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds, can affect people with health problems.
A Sepa spokeswoman said: “There have been isolated cases, particularly in the early days, when a breach occurred for two hours.”
But she added: “The emission limit value breaches were of short duration. In the vast majority of cases, emission limits were breached for just a few minutes.
“During commissioning, it is not unexpected there will be technical breaches of the permit conditions while the plant is ‘bedding in’ and the control programming is fine-tuned. Deviation of a single parameter can have a knock-on effect.”
Campaigners are against ScotGen’s plans to build an incinerator at Dovesdale Farm, Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire. Celia Tennant, of the Dovesdale Action Group, said: “These figures support our fears that there are no guarantees of safety.
“As the Dovesdale development would be twice the size of the Dumfries plant, most assumptions would be that would mean twice as many reported incidents. It would only take one incident or one release to do real damage.”
ScotGen’s project manager Lloyd Brotherton said no risks were posed by the breaches.
The firm wants to spend £50 million on an incinerator that would burn household and industrial waste and generate enough green energy to power 90,000 homes and create 50 jobs.
It would also handle “hazardous” materials, but the company denies claims they plan a “toxic waste incinerator”.
Mr Brotherton said most of the breaches were the result of plant commissioning, adding: “We are obliged to make Sepa aware of each breach under a self-reporting system but there were no risks to the environment. It is something that has been confined to within the boundaries of the plant.”
Despite repeated claims he has snubbed local residents, Mr Brotherton justified his talk with local farmers by insisting: “It was not a public meeting. We don’t attend public meetings. But we do meet with interested parties.”
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Re: Waste incinerator company in emission safety breaches, 28 July
Re: Waste incinerator company in emission safety breaches, 28 July