Seal Sands Toxic Waste Incinerator Impact Home page

Comment

Some Comments and Concerns

HEALTH

A toxic waste incinerator can only be damaging to local health, in an environment already overloaded with toxic chemicals. There is a clear and self-evident relationship between proximity to poluting industry, poverty, and poor health.

The incinerator stack is designed to disperse emissions over a wide area: most of Teesside is within ten miles, most of it much closer.

No incinerator is pollution free. Operating at 99.9% efficiency, this one would fail to treat 30 tonnes of hazardous waste every year.

DEVELOPMENT

Civic leaders all want to project a 'clean' image of Teesside, to attract new investment. Redcar & Cleveland's priority, for instance, is to make the borough
"an attractive place to live, work, and invest"

Having one of the UK's only three toxic waste incinerators will discourage 'clean' investors, but encourage those that produce hazardous waste. As the then leader of Cleveland County Council said when this first came up in 1990 "We need a reputation like that like we need a hole in the head."

Worse, the grim perception of the area by young people who live here will be reinforced. We need to stop the outflow of young people.

SUSTAINABILITY

Our councils are committed to 'sustainable development' - including reducing pollution and waste. Incinerators encourage waste; for instance the Haverton Hill municipal waste incinerator requires that councils MUST provide massive quantities to feed its furnaces (and pay its profits) for the next twenty years. Any shortfall is penalised. And to meet government recycling targets, we must INCREASE waste to provide enough to divert to recycling!

The European Landfill Directive, which restricts the disposal of hazardous wastes to landfill sites, is designed to "cut waste through the design of processes and products, the development of alternative technologies and materials, and techniques to take the hazards out of waste on site" (Environment Agency news item, 16.4.2002). It is not intended to replace landfill with another cheap and dirty option!