BCAG Make Front Page!

7 Responses

  1. Michael Ryan says:

    Can Breathe Clean Air Group, and the media helping expose the truth about health risks, also expose the devious role of the Environment Agency in issuing IPPC permits for incinerators etc. as set out in these letters of mine in two Welsh papers this week:

    South Wales Echo: Agency’s lack of diligence
    South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Wales) – Thursday, October 21, 2010

    I WONDER if many other former employees of the Environment Agency wish that the National Rivers Authority had been allowed to continue as an effective quango.

    In my opinion, the failure of the Environment Agency to show the same degree of diligence with airborne pollution as it has shown when dealing with flood prediction has brought the Environment Agency into disrepute in all parts of England and Wales where proposals for incinerators or biomass plants have been proposed.

    The Environment Agency is supposed to regulate polluting industries, but they don’t examine any health or mortality data to check if harm is being done. It’similar to dishing out flood warnings without checking if it’s been raining.

    The Environment Agency assumes there’s no damage to health from incinerators because they have not been told of damage by health authorities.

    The health authorities assume there will be no damage to health because the Health Protection Agency has told them that there’s been none.

    The Health Protection Agency has not bothered to check any data around any incinerator and therefore its advice is, in my view, worthless.

    If the Splott incinerator objectors make use of the above, they’ll have a greater chance of success (“Campaign group’s joy over incinerator delay”, Echo, October 20).

    Michael Ryan Shrewsbury

    ***************
    The Western Mail: Airborne pollution
    Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) – Wednesday, October 20, 2010

    SIR – I wonder if many other former employees of the Environment Agency wish that the National Rivers Authority had been allowed to continue as an effective quango.

    In my opinion, the failure of the Environment Agency to show the same degree of diligence with airborne pollution as it has shown when dealing with flood prediction has brought the Environment Agency into disrepute in all parts of England and Wales where proposals for incinerators or biomass plants have been proposed.

    The Environment Agency is supposed to regulate polluting industries, but they don’t examine any health or mortality data to check if harm is being done. It’s similar to dishing out flood warnings without checking if it’s been raining.

    The Environment Agency assume that there’s no damage to health from incinerators because they’ve not been told of damage by health authorities.

    The health authorities assume that there’ll be no damage to health because the Health Protection Agency have told them that there’ll be none.

    The Health Protection Agency haven’t bothered to check any data around any incinerator and therefore their advice is in my view worthless.

    If the Splott incinerator objectors make use of the above, they’ll have a greater chance of success.

    MICHAEL RYAN Shrewsbury

  2. Jo says:

    Well done Michael for helping to expose the truth about the roll of the Environment Agency in issuing IPPC permits for incinerators etc.This government must sort this mess out and stop incinerators from killing people.

  3. Alison Parker says:

    Hi Everyone just to say we are doing really well , and we will be out doing something some where every week. so lets keep up the good work. We have to do what ever we can to get this plant STOPPED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the sake of all the lovely young babies and children that would be breathing in this dirty air . Come on everyone needs to voice there concerns .

  4. Jayne says:

    Balloon release on Tuesday meeting at Christ Church Lostock Road. Time to be confirmed. We are sourcing biodegradable balloons – if you have any, please donate them to the cause!

  5. Jayne says:

    UPDATE – biodegradable balloon release on TUESDAY 26th October at 11.30. Meeting at Christ Church Lostock Road Davyhulme. Any helium would be gratefully received! Come along & show your support.

  6. Jayne says:

    DUE TO RAIN FORECAST FOR TOMORROW, WE ARE HAVING TO CHANGE THE DATE FOR THE BALLOON RELEASE TO SATURDAY – TIME TO BE CONFIRMED.

  7. Michael Ryan says:

    Look carefully at what’s not been written by the Environment Agency in this letter in today’s Western Mail:

    Testing the air

    SIR – We would like to take this opportunity to reassure your readers that we take our regulation of sites extremely seriously when it comes to air pollution, contrary to the belief of Michael Ryan (Letters, Oct 20).

    We have been thoroughly diligent in our assessment of the application for an environmental permit from Viridor for an energy from waste plant in Splott as we are with all of our assessments.

    We have investigated the application for more than 18 months and consulted at length with health professionals and the local community. We do not take any decision to issue an environmental permit lightly.

    The limits put on emissions from any site are set by EU and UK Governments at levels that will maintain safe air quality to protect people’s health.

    These safe air quality levels are agreed with expert advice from health professionals, including the World Health Organisation and the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards.

    These limits are there to protect people and the environment and our officers will be there to enforce these standards through the life of any plant.

    If any site does not meet the requirements to protect people and the environment – we will not issue a permit.

    CHRIS MILLS

    Director, Environment Agency Wales

    http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/letters-to-the-editor/western-mail-letters/2010/10/25/monday-25-october-2010-91466-27536078/

    Chris Mills hasn’t realised that it’s impossible to tell whether or not emissions are
    “at levels that will maintain safe air quality to protect people’s health” unless health data is analysed in electral wards around such installations and compared with data in wards that are free from industrial PM2.5 emissions.

    It would have been better if Chris Mills had written:

    “It’s a fair cop! We’ve been asleep on the job for many years and just let people suffer from harmful airborne emissions. We’ve not realised that one day there might be a “tsunami of anger” over proposed incinerators/biomass plants.

    In order to make some amends, all those whose jobs should have involved protecting the public from harmful airborne emissions will be sacked with immediate effect and will forfeit all pension rights.”

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