Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Mario de Marco said on Monday that local councils in the vicinity of the Marsa power station had not requested Enemalta Corporation to establish independent air monitoring systems and appoint experts at its own expense to establish the source of the black dust phenomenon.
Winding up the debate on the motion setting up a parliamentary select committee to investigate the sources of black dust in Fgura and the surrounding areas and to arrive at solutions, Dr de Marco said the local councils had failed to use the conditions which Mepa had obliged Enemalta to observe when it issued the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) permit in March 2009.
He said the government and Mepa had no reason to give a whitewash to the Marsa power station which had a remaining maximum of 20,000 hours’ operation under the EU derogation. There was no loss of confidence in Mepa and the select committee could investigate what Mepa, Enemalta and the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) had done on the matter. The committee would also listen to any expert, whether local or foreign.
The government accepted the amendments proposed by the opposition because it had nothing to hide. The committee could also engage foreign experts and hear members of civil society, as requested by the opposition.
Dr de Marco augured that there would be no particle of black dust in the south once the Marsa power station was decommissioned.
Mepa had made its own analysis and the Stacey Report had concluded that before 2000, the Marsa power station could have been the source of black dust. Enemalta had changed the fuel and used precipitators in the power station after that year, with complaints being greatly reduced.
The investigation carried out by Mepa in 2007 showed that particles of black dust collected from Fgura were identical to the fly ash deposited by the Marsa power station, but there were no traces of particles from the three heavy metals associated with fly ash.
Dr de Marco said that the hazardous chemicals PM100 and PM 2.5 which were particles too fine to see with the naked eye were not present in the black dust. Under European standards, Malta had more air monitoring systems than in other countries. Another monitoring system was to be installed.
Soot blowing was done daily at the Marsa power station to avoid loss of efficiency. He asked whether one was convinced that black dust could not be caused by traffic and scrapyards.
He augured that the select committee would arrive at viable solutions by listening to scientists.
The motion as amended was unanimously approved.
Earlier, Jesmond Mugliett (PN) said that the government had acknowledged the need for the issue to be treated seriously because its entities had not done enough to get to the root of the problem, while residents’ complaints had increased.
Complaints on smells in Spencer Hill had first been made 12 years ago, but due attention to the issue had only started when Mepa opened offices in the area.
Mr Mugliett said the report tabled by the Prime Minister mentioned that the dust could result from the combustion of fuel oil as used in the power station and by vehicles. He asked whether, a year later, a report had been made to check on the action Mepa had to take. Mepa too had to be made accountable.
There was not enough evidence that the black dust came from the power station, but there had been many instances where the Marsa power station was shown to be the culprit. The decision had therefore been taken by Enemalta to operate again the precipitators for boilers six, seven and eight.
The problem had arisen again in 2009 after the power station precipitators were switched off because of problems on deposits of fly ash. For months Mepa had not been aware of this, said Mr Mugliett.
He had again raised the issue in July 2009 but sampling tests had been restarted in mid-August. He called on Mepa to install permanent sampling systems and to see that the tests were carried out with seriousness.
Boiler start-up and shutdown operations were excluded from monitoring. Did anyone know how frequently this happened? asked Mr Mugliett. Enemalta had to be held accountable for emissions from the Marsa power station which was operating under certain EU derogations.
Franco Debono (PN) said he agreed that the select committee should not stop functioning until a solution was reached. It resulted that the problem had increased considerably in the Fgura environs.
While there were improvements in the environmental sector, there was more to be done to identify the source of this problem. It was a very unpleasant situation because people inhaled this dust – not only in Fgura but also in surrounding areas.
The select committee would accelerate the analysis of this problem.
Meanwhile, one should be cautious. Black dust collected 10 years ago could be different from today’s. Moreover, one should consider that there might be one or more sources of this dust. The way the select committee would proceed should lead to identify the source of this dust and enable the taking of necessary actions.