CHASE Press Release 27-02-06

Ministers Ignorance on Health Evidence An Embarrassment to Government

Damning Evidence Against Incinerators As Debate Shifts to
Particulate Matter (PM) Emissions
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In a Prime Time Incineration special on Thursday last (23 February 2006) Minister Roche reinforced his position as a NIMBY, and exposed Government ignorance regarding the latest health reports on the safety of incinerators.

Minister Roche was unable to refute the latest evidence in the form of a report by The British Society for Ecological Medicine (BSEM), quoted by CHASE’s Mr Frank Kelleher to support his argument that Incinerators are too high risk for human health.

The report, written in December 2005, entitled "The Health Effects of Waste Incinerators", and stating that 'facilities emitting substantial quantities of fine particulates [incinerators]...should not be approved and urgent measures should be taken to reduce the emissions from waste burning installations in current use and to apply vigorous biological monitoring until they can be taken out of service and safer methods of waste disposal brought into operation", left the Minister without reply, and made a complete mockery of the Government line that a safely run incinerator is acceptable.

Mr Kelleher also referred to the WHO Document produced in April 2005 - Particulate Matter, Air Pollution; How it harms health.

The growing body of evidence on the damage caused by PM was backed up during the programme by a number of national and international experts from both sides of the debate who expressed serious reservations about the safety of incineration.

When challenged by Mr Kelleher on the Governments failure to address the cornerstone of its waste policy i.e. Waste Prevention - having spent only Euro 5million (Race Against Waste Campaign) out of a promised prevention budget of Euro 55million - Minister Roche seemed under the impression the policy document was history and that building incinerators would solve the problem of illegal landfill in his own Wicklow constituency. Minister Roche has previously been quoted as saying that he would not want an incinerator in his own constituency.

If Minister Roche is serious about his position as Minister for the Environment he will now familiarise himself with current incinerator health reports, including PM damage, and consider placing a moratorium on the building of incinerators until he has spent his committed budget on waste prevention.

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For further information:

Mary Hurley, CHASE PRO, 021 4813070 086 8162448
Mary O’Leary, CHASE Chairperson, 021 4811952 086 8177737