The people’s health deserved a diesel-fuelled power station extension at Delimara, three environmental groups are insisting.
In a statement, Friends of the Earth, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar and the Ramblers' Association said that now that the dust seemed to have settled on the power station extension debate, they were seriously concerned of potentially serious environmental problems which were not properly tackled.
The proposed power station operated on heavy fuel oil would generate some 30 tonnes of hazardous waste from the clean-up of its chimney gases a day.
The claim that this ‘hazardous’ waste was merely an irritant was incorrect, they said.
For the particulate matter from the engines still contained heavy metals like vanadium and nickel abundant in heavy fuel oil, in addition to the poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) carcinogens common in ‘diesel engine’ exhaust.
That imposed strict conditions on the collection, storage and transportation of the waste. The intention to transport the waste by road to the Freeport would increase heavy traffic through Marsaxlokk and Birzebbuga, and expose residents to toxic emissions from the heavy emission of particulates with PAH from the container truck exhausts.
The plant would also produce about a tonne per day of heavy fuel oil sludge, which could not be burnt by its engines.
The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) suggested that this be burnt at the Marsa incinerator.
But when the Malta Environment and Planning Authority heard of the proposal, it ruled out this option.
This sludge could not be disposed of with other hazardous waste because of its physical and chemical nature.
This problem should be tackled immediately and the public had to be informed of the proposed solution.
“There must not be a repeat of the black dust charade, where Mepa, waking up from a four-year sleep to find Enemalta sending Marsa fly ash to an unlicensed quarry, summarily stopped the transfer.
“This meant that as soon as the Marsa ash store was full, Enemalta switched off the Marsa precipitators, showering the surrounding areas with 200 tonnes of hazardous fly ash.
“Enemalta, MEPA, and the authorities concerned then claimed that the source of the resultant latest dust plague was difficult to establish.
“When the cover was blown, the ultimate defence of Mepa was that it could not object to the switching off of the filters, as Marsa was not working under an IPPC permit at the time.
“MEPA had forgotten to issue one,” they said.
The organisations said that in spite of these problems, the authorities were still refusing to seriously consider using diesel (gasoil) rather than heavy fuel oil as fuel for the extension. “They do not even have an agreed figure for the diesel-HFO difference in the cost of a unit, when all savings have been taken into account: Enemalta says 24 per cent and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech says 30 per cent.”
The minister repeatedly asserted that the use of diesel would result in an immediate rise of 30 per cent in electricity bills.
This, the organisations said, was wrong.
“With Marsa switched off, the extension working flat out would provide less than half our needs.
“That means that the average cost of a unit will go up by 15 per cent at most and not by 30 per cent.”
If one accepted the Enemalta figure for the diesel ‘surcharge’ the increase would come down to 12 per cent. That figure could probably be cut down further, and would also be offset by lower pollution-related healthcare costs.
“We suggest that the decent option in the public interest is for Enemalta to go for a diesel-fuelled power station extension at Delimara.
“The nation’s health calls for nothing less,” they insisted.