Incinerator’s impact on public health must be assessed, says expert

THE country’s first toxic waste incinerator must not be built before a proper Health Impact Assessment is carried out, a leading public health specialist warned yesterday.

Dr Anthony Staines said the health information contained in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) carried out on the proposed Ringaskiddy toxic waste incinerator falls short of any reasonable estimate of what is required.

"I still don't know what the health impact will be after reading the EIS. There is no obvious indication that any formal process for human health assessment was used," Dr Staines told the seventh day of an oral hearing into the proposed development.