Gas emissions limit breached
THE Runcorn incinerator breached emissions limits for sulphur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) in 2016.
An annual performance report filed by plant operators Viridor to the Environment Agency (EA) said there were multiple exceedances during the year over short spells of 30 minutes.
In addition, the maximum amount of carbon monoxide over 10 minutes reached nearly six times the EA limit at one of the four pollution detection points, measuring 6,138.70 milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m3) – a staggering 41 times the 150mg/m3 permit maximum.
Viridor has said the EA did not require any further action or enforcement.
For hydrogen chloride, which is the key compound in hydrochloric acid and can cause a range of health issues, the substance reached a concentration of 299.37 mg/ m3, about five times the 60 mg/m3 limit at one of the points.
Sulphur dioxide, which can form particulate pollution matter and can cause breathing difficulties and harm trees and plants as well as contribute to acid rain, reached levels of 399.14 mg/m3 over half an hour, about double the EA’s 200 mg/ m3 limit.
The report said the plant’s SO2 and HCl emissions remained within the permitted range for average amounts over 24 hours.
It added that recorded concentrations ‘ generally remained compliant’ with the limits in the incinerator’s permit.
Other substances such as dioxins, nitrogen oxides and hydrogen fluoride were also within limits.
Reasons given for excess amounts of SO2 and HCl included issues such as fault or miscalculation with the amount of lime used, and too much ‘plastic being fed into the furnace’.
The report said the plant generated 568,671,387 kilowatthours (KWh) of electricity and 515,880 tonnes of steam.
It produced 192,298,877 kilograms (Kg) of bottom ash and consumed 18,582,40 Kg of lime.
The incinerator, which produces energy for the neighbouring Inovyn chemical works, part of Ineos, used 796,583,810 Kg of water, 110,815,720 Kg of that from the River Dee, according to the report.
It 867,714.66 waste.
Of that, 867,660 tonnes was ‘ refuse-derived fuel’, which is pre-treated rubbish. incinerated tonnes of
In a statement to the Weekly News, a Viridor spokesman said: “Runcorn energy from waste (EfW), like all sites of this nature in the UK, operates under strict regulations to protect the environment and public health.
“We submit regular updates to the Environment Agency on the per- formance of Runcorn EfW which has had no enforcement action taken against it. Any process variations are monitored and are reported to the EA in the annual performance report.
“Runcorn EfW can confirm the EA found none of these variations required further action.” ●