Hospital incinerator 'still working'

The St Luke's Hospital incinerator, which was supposed to have stopped functioning years ago, was still belching out black smoke last week, the Labour party has complained.

Labour spokesman for the environment Leo Brincat said the chimney should have been dismantled in the first week of December 2007.

However, last week it was still emitting black smoke, to the detriment of the residents' health.

Even though the Pieta' local council, run by a Nationalist majority, had asked for an explanation, no public reply or official explanation has been forthcoming, he added.

He recalled that the government was forced to close the incinerator after it was established that it was in breach of EU emissions directives. Clinical waste, as the incinerated material was called, was supposed to be disposed of at an incinerator in Marsa, located close to the abattoir.

He demanded to know when the incinerator would stop functioning completely and why it was still belching smoke.

If boilers were being used to warm the building, the government was obliged to take all the necessary steps to ensure the surrounding environment was respected, he said.

There was no reply to his statement from the government yesterday.