Campaigners say biomass plant will increase pollution
CAMPAIGNERS against a biomass plant in Barry have expressed fears the facility will increase pollution and harm the health of residents in the town when it’s fully operational.
The Docks Incinerator Action Group (DIAG) has said the facility will increase air pollution in the town – even if it meets industrial standards as the developers claim – and “toxic” particles emitted by the gasification plant will be so small they can pass into people’s bloodstreams.
Developers of Barry Biomass say the facility will be up and running by the spring and producing enough green electricity to power 23,000 homes.
Barry Biomass says the main pollutants emitted from the site will be nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, “tiny dust particles” and acid gases.
The developer says it will follow strict guidelines set out in its permit to ensure final emissions are not hazardous, and only a small amount of diesel will be used to start the facility.
But a spokesman for DIAG said: “When the operator refers to ‘tiny dust particles,’ they seem to be making light of what this really means.
“They are talking about particles that are toxic. Particles that are so small that if – ‘when’ for us – you breathe them in they will pass through the membrane in the lung and into the bloodstream. Some of these particles are so small that they can embed themselves in a single cell and do their work and also pass across the bloodbrain barrier.”
The developer said it will adhere to “strict guidelines” set out in the Industrial Emissions Directive and set by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) under its environmental permit.
“We are part of the community and want it to be a safe place to work and live,” a spokesman said.
Legally, the hourly average level of nitrogen dioxide cannot exceed 200 micrograms per cubic metre more than 18 times in a year, whereas for sulphur dioxide the limit is an hourly average of 350 micrograms more than 24 times in a year.
Barry Biomass is a gasification plant that involves the heating of wood chips at high temperatures, producing a combustible synthesis gas which is then used to raise steam and generate electricity using a steam turbine. Ofgem defines the process as gasification.
Gasification plants are defined as “incinerators” in the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive, but the developers insist it’s different technology.
DIAG said the “incinerator” will not use the best filtration systems available, which “sounds like the bad face of capitalism winning out over the health of a town”.
Barry Biomass says it uses the baghouse filter in the pollution control system to comply with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and the environmental permit granted by Natural Resources Wales.
“We are working hard every day to make sure we operate efficiently and effectively. This includes maintaining our pollution cleaning and filtering system, so the final emissions released are not hazardous,” the operator says.
In March last year campaigners complained of black smoke coming from the plant’s chimney drifting across the town. The facility was undergoing pre-commissioning and testing its equipment.
NRW says the pollution during this activity was not expected and was due to a malfunction of the burner system. An investigation found a number of minor breaches against the company’s permit – and the company was given a formal warning.
The campaigners now say “large amounts of diesel” will be used in the start-up of the facility.
NRW said emissions from the diesel used to start up the facility will be “very small”.
The operator of the facility says: “Diesel was used briefly in the commissioning stage. We don’t expect to use diesel again other than very briefly during the next start-up of the plant in 2019. As we did earlier in the year, we will notify residents of our plans in order to minimise any concerns.”
The campaigners say the facility may be releasing more than 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.
The operator has not given a figure for how much carbon dioxide will be emitted, but said 80,000 tonnes is “significantly off what it will be”.
DIAG says there is no safe limit for the amount pollutants that the incinerator will pump out.
The Welsh Government is also yet to decide whether an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is needed for the plant – after the Vale of Glamorgan Council overwhelmingly called for one a year ago.
Barry Biomass says it does not feel an EIA is necessary.
DIAG have said the operator’s confidence in starting up the facility appears to confirm it has had “secret discussions” with the Welsh Government.
The Welsh Government has said these claims are “complete nonsense”.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “While we anticipated a decision by the end of last year, further legal clarification on aspects of the case has been necessary. We are giving very careful consideration to compliance with the EIA Directive and a decision will be issued as soon as possible.”
DIAG says the Welsh Government is “playing with us and our health and not telling us the truth when they say the question is too difficult”.