The lack of standards at the grain terminal has prompted the House Environment and Planning Committee to write to the Environmental Health Directorate on the issue of contamination of wheat by cement in the Kordin Silos due to lack of safety standards.
Former health minister Godfrey Farrugia said the contamination of grain by heavy metals present in cement would negatively affect the health of the Maltese, particularly of breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
He proposed that the matter be discussed at the Health Council.
The matter was put on the agenda following a request by Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.
FAA spokesperson Astrid Vella presented the members with details of the report drawn up by two doctors on the issue of the proximity of the cement silo to the wheat silos at Kordin.
Environmental Health Directorate had found that the cement terminal was safe but the grain one was outdated
Ms Vella said the development did not have a permit and there was no assurance the cement silos were not contaminating the wheat silos, which provide 70 per cent of the wheat for bread produced in Malta.
According to the experts, however high the standards of the cement silos, the risk of fugitive dust will remain.
Labour MP Joe Sammut said the permit had been issued and the proper channel for the discussion was the legal route.
Committee chairwoman Marlene Farrugia (PL) said the presentation was being done in order to give members of society a chance to voice their concerns. Dr Sammut retained his objection given that a permit had been issued.
Ms Vella insisted that the cement silos were illegal and yet the entity was still allowed to operate.
Mepa CEO Johan Buttigieg said the site was permitted through an operational permit granted by the board of the authority and FAA could have appealed.
The Environmental Health Directorate had carried out an environmental health assessment and found that the cement terminal was safe.
It was at the grain terminal where the safety standards were outdated, he said, adding that this, however, was not a Mepa issue.
Dr Farrugia said the standards of the grain terminal need to be looked into by the competent authority and appealed to the government to address the issue. The grain terminal needed to upgrade its operations.
Ryan Callus (PN) asked the chairwoman to formally write to the government and request that the directorate look urgently into the matter.
Dr Farrugia continued that it was inconceivable that the cement silo was permitted to operate when it was known that the grain silos were not up to standard. If health failed, all else failed, he warned, emphasising that the contamination was particularly sensitive to breastfeeding mothers.
He was surprised by the health directorate’s assessment and suggested the matter be brought up at the Health Council.
Ms Vella said that even countries with an excellent reputation in standards management shied away from such proximity.
Mr Buttigieg said that while the concerns were valid, the grain terminal was located in the port where a myriad of polluting activities were already in action.
The solution was the upgrading of the grain terminal not the cessation of operations
The chairwoman directed that the directorate be required to reply on the matter.
She said that while Mepa appeared to be doing its duty, the desired outcome was not being reached.