Residents call for independent risk audit

Kirkop residents are calling for an independent assessment on the potential risks the Multigas gas plant places on their lives and homes.

During a peaceful protest yesterday evening, a group of residents led by mayor Mario Salerno said the explosion which shook the peaceful village last week showed how vulnerable the neighbourhood was to such accidents given the close proximity of the gas plant.

On April 10, a cylinder filled with compressed air burst into several pieces and ripped through the roof of the plant, ending up in a field nearby.

The mayor told a gathering of around 100 people that the authorities should appoint an independent specialist, agreed on by Multigas and the local council, to assess the risk of other explosions or other hazards posed by the plant.

Mr Salerno called on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to carry out an Environment Impact Assessment because the plant lies close to an access road used by residents and visitors to Kirkop.

"The risk assessment should be carried out and the facts published," the mayor said, adding that any part of the gas plant found to be dangerous or too close to residences should be removed.

It was unjust that residents could not feel safe in their homes living with the constant fear that the plant might explode at one point or another, Mr Salerno added.

Mayors of neighbouring villages attended the protest. Residents carried banners against the plant and against Mepa.

Mepa had given the go ahead, in 2002, for the Multigas plant to be moved from Sta Venera to Kirkop.

The matter was even taken to the European Commission, which ruled it found nothing untoward with the process leading to the approval of the plant's relocation.

Labour MEP Joseph Muscat who showed up in Kirkop was invited by Mr Salerno to ask the other Maltese MEPs to broach the issue at the European Parliament.

No one was injured when the explosion occurred. There were no personnel at the plant at the time.

Following the incident, Multigas had said the explosion was caused by a malfunction while the cylinder was being filled mechanically with compressed air.

The company sought to reassure neighbours saying that the compressed air station represented a minimal part of the company's activity and has nothing to do with the more delicate core processes.

But the local council insisted the incident could have had serious consequences. The police, along with the company's own experts, are investigating the cause of the incident.