(Adds ministry statement)
Gas flaring at the Marsascala recycling plant happened in the past and no one in authority bothered to flag the issue, according to scientist Edward Mallia.
He was reacting to criticism by PN exponents over the closure of the family park in Marsascala that had been prompted by the burning of an acidic gas in the adjacent recycling facility.
Last month Dr Mallia led a team of experts who recommended the temporary closure of the park after an investigation found that a fault in the recycling plant led to the burning of hydrogen sulphide gas.
Dr Mallia explains that the act of burning causes the sulphur in hydrogen sulphide to form the much less dangerous compound, sulphur dioxide. This is dispersed in “small but not negligible” quantities in the air around Sant’Antnin.
“This is by no means the first time that biogas has been flared since the start of operations in 2010, but no one in authority – least of all the now-vociferous PN ex-ministers – raised a whimper then,” Dr Mallia says.
What is unusual is the length of time flaring must continue because the fault is likely to take some months to be fixed, he adds. It was within this context that the team of experts recommended the family park be temporarily shut.
But Dr Mallia also insists there is an urgent need for real-time monitoring on site, at least for sulphur dioxide.
Currently the monitoring is through the planning authority’s air quality station in Żejtun, which the experts had noted recorded higher than usual levels of sulphur dioxide at least on two occasions.
In each case, the recorded levels were still below the safety levels set by the EU.
In a statement this morning, the Environment Ministry also said that real time monitoring on site had now been going on for days in line with Dr Mallia's advice.
Special equipment owned by the planning authority was used and would continue to be used for as long as necessary for the benefit of workers, residents and people frequenting the zone.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com