Put gasification plant at Fort George say angry residents

Local waste firm Brickkiln applied for permission to build a gasification plant in Maydown in March 2009 and proposes a two acre facility housing a two line gasification plant with associated ancillaries for the generation of power. Alongside this private application Brickkiln is also one of two final bidders in the running for a £500 million long-term residual waste treatment contract with the North West Region Waste Management Group (NWRWMG) which is made up of seven local authorities including Derry City Council, Limavady Borough Council and Strabane District Council. The current shortlist is made up of Greenstar Holding Ltd and a consortium between Brickkiln and construction company Sisk. The award of the multi-million pound tender is imminent says NWRWMG. But concerns have been raised over the potential health impact of a gasification plant. Like incineration gasification is a thermal process that uses high temperature to break down waste. Although it uses less oxygen than mass-burn incineration it is still classified as incineration in the European Union’s Waste Incineration Directive. Eamon O’Donnell and Paul Hughes of Enagh Youth Forum both have serious concerns about the proposed plant and also have wider concerns about the industrialisation of the Strathfoyle area. “We at Enagh Youth Forum would also ask local politicians and decision makers to reverse the planning decision to make the lands surrounding Strathfoyle and Maydown an industrial zone,” they urged. “Enough is enough! The Gasification plant (if it goes ahead) will only seek to compound existing problems in the area. “We are already situated in close proximity to the power station, DuPont, port and harbour, glass storage sheds, soda ash sheds, Foyle Meats etc. “There doesn’t seem to be much happening at the Ebrington and Fort George sites in the city. Why not site the proposed gasification plant there in a central location - would the politicians support it then?” they asked. One local resident also formally objected to the Brickkiln gasification facility last December. “I’ve been researching these plants...Surely, this couldn’t be good for people’s health, especially the people that live in close proximity to this plant,” wrote Christopher Brown of Maydown Road. “People may say that they’re safe. Nothing is ever 100 per cent safe. It’s just a pity about the people that live close to it will find out first if it’sa health hazard,” he concluded. Friends of the Earth say the utilisation of this type of incinerator will discourage recycling and that air emissions including acid gases, dioxins and furans, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, particulates, cadmium, mercury, lead and hydrogen sulphide could result from this process and that this could effect human health. But Brickkiln has insisted on gasification’s green credentials and say the plant will help local councils avoid huge EU fines that will incur if they feel to meet landfill targets. The Sentinel asked the firm for a formal response to the concerns raised but none was available at the time of going to press. The firm has said its application is aimed at addressing local waste management requirements in response to stringent EU regulation and has stated that it intends to forge ahead with the plant regardless of whether it wins the NWRWMG contract next year. The £100 million development at Maydown will establish Londonderry as a pioneer in the provision of an “environmentally friendly alternative to landfilling waste,” the developer has stated. The firm has pointed to its partner Energos’ thirteen year track record and 400,000 hours of safe, ultra low emission operating experience at its seven European facilities in Norway, Germany and on the Isle of Wight.