RESIDENTS OF a number of areas in Co Antrim have raised concerns about plans for a large incinerator on the shores of Lough Neagh.
Warnings about the health and safety implications of the plant, which will burn poultry waste to create energy, were made at a recent public meeting in the Co Antrim town of Crumlin.
The town is a few miles away from Glenavy, where the incinerator is due to be built.
Designed to provide energy to up to 25,000 homes, the incinerator is being promoted as a green solution to the EU Nitrate’s Directive, which aims to reduce pollution caused by waste being spread over fields.
Rose Energy, the company behind the incinerator proposals, has denied claims that dioxins released from the plant could cause an increase in cancer rates, and blamed public fears on “misinformation”.
People living near the location for the proposed plant were told at the public meeting that the building, with its huge chimney, would be one of the tallest structures on the island of Ireland and could damage scenery and reduce local housing value.
The meeting was also told of concerns that traffic through the towns of Glenavy, Crumlin and Antrim could increase dramatically, as waste is ferried in from across Northern Ireland.
Protesters claim this could mean a lorry full of chicken meat, bones and bedding could trundle through the area every five minutes, while other vehicles would have to carry away the ash from the plant.
“This traffic increase could pose a threat to our children and other vulnerable pedestrians,” Ray Clarke of Communities Against the Lough Neagh Incinerator (Calni) said.
Belfast-based biomedical scientist Gerry Duffy, a staff member in the city’s Mater Hospital, told the meeting that young children living in the shadow of the incinerator could die as a result of “toxic” fumes billowing from the chimney.
“When this material is burned, it will release harmful dioxins that are known to cause cancer,” he said.
“Mothers who breastfeed infants could also be unwittingly passing on dangerous levels of dioxins that their bodies have stored up. Infant mortality rates will rise in areas downwind of this incinerator. It is the worst thing we could possibly imagine.”
Hundreds of locals who packed the Crumlin village hall were also warned the local agriculture industry would suffer, as large food buyers such as supermarkets would shun meat and dairy products produced in areas where “harmful” chimney ash could accumulate. Lough Neagh is a source of drinking water for the Co Antrim area, and it is feared water supplies could be “contaminated”.
Local Stormont MLAs, including Sinn Féin’s Mitchel McLaughlin, appeared aghast at the plans, and backed Calni, urging locals to write to the Northern Ireland Planning Service to protest.
“I’m from an engineering background, and I know this just isn’t safe,” he said. Calni has demanded that a public inquiry into the project is held.
The protesters’ claims were rejected by Rose Energy, the company seeking to develop the incinerator.
The firm is funded by chicken poultry meat producers, and chief executive Osvaldo Mauro-Hun said: “The plant will conform to all EU regulations, and the studies undertaken as part of our planning application show the plant would absolutely not present the substantial health risks being touted.
“Compared to background levels of dioxins and metals already present in the environment, the emissions from the Rose Energy plant are negligible.
“It is important that all parties in this debate stick to facts, and not hearsay, and we are happy to continue meeting with residents’ groups or other interested parties to address any misinformation, and allay their concerns.”