Incinerators a major source of dioxins

AS a one-time resident of Monkstown in Cork harbour, I offer my congratulations to the Ringaskiddy residents who have been granted permission to take their case against the threatened incinerator before the High Court, and I wish them every success when their case comes to hearing.

I have followed with growing horror the ongoing saga of Indaver’s application to the relevant authorities for approval to pollute the harbour area for profit.

Has the misnamed Environmental Protection Agency learned nothing from the adverse recommendation of its own inspector, from the Belgian experience of their 1999 dioxin crisis which decimated their agricultural exports or from the WHO classification of dioxin as a class one carcinogen?

Where stands the Department of Health in this controversy?

Has it abandoned responsibility for public health?

Do the departments of agriculture and industry and commerce have a responsibility to protect the country’s clean, green image and thereby promote the food export market?

Municipal and State-fostered solid waste incinerators are the most prolific sources of dioxin throughout the developed world.

Where does Indaver propose to dispose of the dioxin-laden ash which will be the inevitable result of the incineration process?

Does anyone in Government circles or in the public service really care?

Aideen Kerr

10B Peel Street

Christchurch 8005

New Zealand