Mepa wonders how Brussels reached Lija air pollution conclusions

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority is seeking advice to establish whether legal action can be taken against Blockrete Company Ltd in connection with the dust its plant emits into the atmosphere in Lija, Mepa environment director Martin Seychell told The Times.

On the other hand, Mepa would like to know how the European Commission had arrived to the conclusion that the PM10 particles in Lija could be attributed only to the plant, Mr Seychell added.

The European Commission has noted that air pollution in Lija exceeded EU limits.

The Commission's conclusions were given in reply to a petition filed by Michael Zammit and raised during a meeting of the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament meeting in Brussels.

Mr Zammit complained that Blockrete Ltd, which produced construction material, emitted dust and noise to the detriment of the health and safety of Lija residents.

In its reply, the Commission admitted that, based on data provided by the Maltese authorities, it transpired that the particulate matter (PM10) in the area exceeded EU limits and was, therefore, in breach of EU law.

The Commission said that "an air pollution abatement plan, prepared by Malta, did not manage to deliver compliance".

It added that it did not intend to institute infringement proceedings against Malta for the time being because the relevant EU law was being updated.

MEP Simon Busuttil, a member of the committee, expressed surprise that the Commission preferred not to take action when it was admitting there was breach of EU law.

On Dr Busuttil's suggestion, the petition was kept open for consideration until the Commission acquired from the Maltese authorities full information on the list of the promised measures to cut emissions and a clear timeframe within which they would be applied.

Alternattiva Demokratika has insisted that the European Commission's argument not to open an infringement procedure because of a pending revision of the air quality directive was unacceptable. AD wrote to EU Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros accusing the Commission of "maladministration".

Mr Seychell said he was intrigued how the Commission identified the source of PM10 dust in Lija as Blockrete.

"PM10 is not the visible portion of dust. There are many sources of PM10 that can come primarily from vehicle exhaust, fireplaces, construction activity and even natural sources.

"It is difficult to distinguish between the sources of dust as a filter catches all PM10s," Mr Seychell said.

Malta has five air monitoring stations while the relevant EU directive lays down that there has to be an air monitoring station for every 250,000 people. Hence, technically, Malta needs to have only two. The stations are in Gozo, Zejtun, Corradino, Msida and Floriana. The one in Msida will be relocated to Attard shortly.

"The unit closest to Lija is the one at Msida. Perhaps, the EU is agglomerating results of air quality and saying the results at Msida stand for the situation in Lija.

"Airborne sea salt is also a big source of PM10s, as is traffic. With a main arterial road close to Lija, PM10s there are bound to be high.

"But this in no way means that Blockrete may not be a significant contributor and we are seeking legal advice about the matter," Mr Seychell explained.

Contacted for his reaction, Dr Busuttil said that last summer, upon his and Lija mayor Ian Castaldi Paris's request, Blockrete carried out some improvements.

"It installed new fencing and reduced the height of some of the construction material in the factory site.

"However, since it is now established that EU standards are not met, it is clear more needs to be done.

"Companies have a right to operate but they must do so within the limits of the law, including EU law, and in full respect of residents in the neighbouring areas.

"New rules relating to building sites were enacted recently to reduce the inconvenience to residents caused by construction sites.

"This was a very good step in the right direction. We now need to step up these efforts and apply them across the board to all sites emitting dust and noise pollution, not least those sites operated by construction companies."

Attempts by The Times to get comments from Blockrete failed in spite of repeated phone calls. The Times was informed no directors were available.