People living near the Sant’Antin recycling plant in Marsascala were not exposed to toxic gases such as dioxin because no waste was being incinerated there, the plant operators said yesterday.

The assurance was issued after The Malta Independent reported that equipment to stop dioxin leaking from the plant remained out of order for a number of years. The newspaper quoted Wasteserv’s chief operating officer, Andrew Brincat, saying the equipment, known as regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO), was too costly to repair and so the company was looking at other solutions.

Mr Brincat was speaking during a planning authority hearing on Thursday when the company was granted the so-called integrated pollution prevention control permit to run the facility.

His comment raised concerns that nearby communities might be exposed to dioxin, a highly toxic environmental pollutant released when mixed solid waste is incinerated.

In a bid to allay fears of dioxin emissions, Wasteserv clarified in a statement that no incineration was taking place at the plant. It added that regular air monitoring surveys were carried out by independent contractors and the results were forwarded to the environment watchdog for further verification.

Wasteserv said incineration was only carried out at the Marsa thermal treatment facility and was limited to abattoir and clinical waste, not mixed solid waste. Regular emissions at Marsa confirmed the absence of dioxin, it noted.

As for the RTO, Wasteserv remarked that the equipment had never been commissioned by the contractor when the plant opened in 2010 but the company was still committed to do so within six months from the granting of the IPPC permit. Nevertheless, it pointed out that the RTO was not an adequate treatment for dioxins but more of an effective method to handle odour issues.

Wasteserv said it was considering various absorbent technologies as an alternative to RTO and pointed out that other measures had already been taken to reduce inconveniences caused by odour emissions.

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