For my overseas friends the Rob spoken of is a member of Greenpeace and is up before the courts for the Greenpeace action at the Edmonton incinerator for causing 'criminal damage' (although nothing was actually damaged during the demonstration.)

Now, I know some of you question the performance of our clean/safe/modern incinerators - and even go so far as to question the performance of our very own Environment Agency.  Well, at last, here we have a Parliamentary Question which should put all this needless concern to rest.

The PQ answers the question of how many times the (modern-generation only) incinerators in the UK have "breached" their legal emissions limits, in each year between 1996-2000.  So, no old plants included;  no blaming previous Governments - none of that.  This is excellent performance base which leads our Government to conclude that we should expand from 12
incinerators at present to, oh, 112 or so.

Just to help out, I'll summarise some of the math from the PQ here.  But before I do, I'd like to note that Rob Gueterbock and 4 others are still up on 2 charges before Wood Green Crown Court in March.  Meanwhile the 6 years of spreading >2000 tonnes of dioxin-contaminated ash on allotments and parks across Newcastle sees the Byker incinerator operator only up before a Magistrate that same month.

But I guess that's another issue.... Anyway, to the figures:

1. The 10-12 incinerators have had a mere 899 breaches of their legal air emission limits over the past 5 years.

2. That's an average of 180 every year, or, about 15 for every plant per year.  A bit more than 1 breach every month.

3. They averaged 145 breaches in 1996/97/98.  There were 414 breaches in 1999 alone, but improved back down to 146 last year!  (Errr, at least back down to the '96-'98 average.)

4.  Of these, 56% (504) of all breaches were for HCl emissions, while Zero (0) were for dioxin.  Seems there's no link between these two substances and the conditions that create them.  So sleep well.  Funny though, that there could be all this extra chlorine floating out the stack - 504 times - and yet, no chlorinated dioxins forming.  (Oops, forgot.  They only test
for dioxin once or twice a year.)

5. While I had thought we were learning that NOx emissions are more and more dangerous, and that our cities are all out of compliance on this air quality front, and thus that we needed to move rapidly to tighten controls --- our incinerators seem to have more than doubled their annual rate of breaching their NOx limits (from 12 to 28 times annually.)

So lemme see here, a dozen plants - mostly owned by 2 companies - have broken the law 899 times over 5 years.
And that's just for air emissions.

I wonder how many prosecutions?  Do you know of any?  I can't remember ANY for air-related emissions breaches. The only ones I've seen have been for illegally burning clinical waste at Edmonton, for losing radioactive material at Tyesley, for spreading dioxin-laden ash from Byker, etc.  Not air breaches.

But there's one particular confidence-building quote in here.... "All operators of MSWIs are required by their authorisations to inform the Agency of any breaches of emission limit values or failures of equipment that could result in a breach. On receipt of these notifications the Agency assesses the cause and the potential effect on the environment and health.
Where enforcement action is necessary the Agency follows its Enforcement and Prosecution Policy. I understand that to date there have been no breaches of limits that have warranted a detailed study of the impact on health, as the Agency has determined that the potential impact would be negligible. However, should an emission limit be exceeded in the future to
the extent that the impact is not likely to be negligible, the Agency has assured me that it would take appropriate enforcement action and study the potential effects."

So, NONE of these 899 breaches have even warranted a health impact study.

None.  Wow!  The Environment Agency must have teams of dozens of scientists and technicians out there, what with a new breach every 2.03 days taking place - and yet each and every one of them leaving us safe.
Now what do you think the odds are of  that?

Lemme see..... Let's say I drove a car off a road 899 times in 5 years, errrr, ummmm, that's every two days, which is a lot, granted, but hey - wrong side of the road and all that.
Now, you MIGHT want to take my  license away?  But that'd be harsh.  Human rights and Roads to Freedom and
all.  So that might explain why no incinerators have been charged either.
Or you might want to train me a bit, so my "accidents" occurred a bit less frequently? Hmmm, but the average number of accidental breaches doesn't seem to have fallen any, does it.  So they can't be being trained too well either.
Well, how about just ONCE checking to see if I had HIT somebody, gone into somebody's front parlour, collided with anything dangerous - or otherwise damaged anyone's health?
Nope, no need.  It's been looked at by the EA, and I am apparently one HELL of a driver!  899 accidents and I haven't hit anyone yet!

Awesome!

Enough being sarcastic, cynical, emotional and all that.  The AEA/DETR/EA/DTI/EfWA would NOT approve.  So.  899 times - no charges, no health impacts.  But Rob and his 4 friends up the stack - hey presto! - all 5 get nailed for being incredibly destructive to property, health, little children and small animals.

This.  Is.  Our.  Environmental.  Regulator.

Makes me weep, wanting to have the US-EPA  around - and I never thought I'd hear myself saying that!

Is this a scandal yet?  Aren't each of these breaches supposed to be criminal offences or something?
The Observer reveals we have BSE incinerators and trucks leaking ash across our towns and countryside.
ENDS shows we have fires, explosions and technical failures closing major incinerators in Dundee, Wolverhampton, South Wales, Sheffield and Newcastle.
The EA even admits we have the mixing and public spreading of dioxin-laden ash in Newcastle and London and Essex - and that we have incinerators losing radioactive material in Birmingham.
And we have the admission of "incorrections" (not cheating, accidental) in the testing calculations at SELCHP.

Did I miss anywhere?  Oh... and these 899 breaches ON TOP of that.

Well, if it means anything, personally I blame Greenpeace.  They're always getting their numbers wrong you know - and when they do, it SO upsets the plant engineers that they go all to pieces. Bad Greenpeace, baaaaaaaad.

Love and kisses,

More-willing-than-ever-to-take-my-chances-with-the-seal-fat-and-the-igloo,

Quinn. Eskimo.