Cork Harbour dioxin levels to ‘remain below legal limits’

DIOXIN levels in the Cork Harbour area could increase by up to 5% when the planned incinerators are in operation — but, even with such increases, emissions would still fall well below legal limits, an oral hearing was told.

Responding to submissions from the local community, who have expressed grave concern at the health impacts of the incinerators, environmental consultant for Indaver, Dr Edward Porter told the third day of the An Bord Pleanála hearing that all potentially dangerous emissions from the waste- to-energy facility would fall far short of sanctioned emission limits.

Dr Porter — director of air quality and climate with AWN Consulting — cited Britain’s National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

“This found that the current major sources of dioxides and furans [which are toxic and may be carcinogenic] were backyard burning, agricultural waste burning and accidental fires, and that incineration is no longer a major source but had reduced to less than 0.5% of dioxide emissions,” he said.

Dr Porter also said the incineration facilities would account for 0.014% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 after energy recovery is taken into account.

Quoting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he said that landfills generated far more greenhouse gas and that this project would exploit the energy value in non-recyclables.

“Landfills produce methane for decades. Incineration, composting and other strategies that reduce landfill are complementary mitigation measures to landfill gas recovery in the short to medium term.”

Dr Porter completed a detailed baseline air quality survey from November 2006-February 2007 and from April to July 2008. This studied existing emissions in a 20sq km grid, including Cobh, Carrigaline and Monkstown.

It found that levels of sulphur and nitrogen dioxide, benzene, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, arsenic, chromium, lead and thallium were all significantly below annual limit levels. Controversial dioxin levels were no higher than elsewhere in the country.

It is envisaged the proposed incinerators in Ringaskiddy would annually burn up to 240,000 tonnes of industrial and municipal waste.