Pollution fears as black smoke spread over Fife

Mossmorran operator apologises and reassures worried public over chemical concerns

The operators of a Fife chemical plant have had to apologise and reassure the public after plumes of black smoke issued from the building.

After a week of severe flaring at Mossmorran, a separate issue sent the pollutants belching from the large chimney at the ExxonMobil site.

Local people have complained of a recent increase in noise, vibration and light pollution from the plant and have expressed their fears over the latest issue.

Police Scotland were called on several occasions and were also moved to calm worried members of the public.

An ExxonMobil spokesman said: “We aim to keep flaring to a minimum and are currently in the process of resuming normal operations.”

The operators of a Fife chemical plant have apologised after it sent smoke belching into the atmosphere.

Alarmed local communities expressed concern after the smoke from the Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran hung over the countryside for several hours on Sunday night.

Fifers said they had never seen anything like the pollution pouring from the plant at the weekend.

It followed several days of flaring, noise, vibration and light pollution, although the company said the smoke was caused by a separate issue.

Insisting there was no danger to the community or employees, an ExxonMobil spokesman said: “The flaring is the result of a sudden, temporary disruption to the feedstock process for the plant during the evening of Sunday June 18.

“The flaring is a separate issue from last week’s process upset, which was resolved on Saturday at 9.20am.

“We aim to keep flaring to a minimum and are currently in the process of resuming normal operations.”

Police Scotland took several calls from the public on Sunday night and issued a statement saying it was nothing to be concerned about. People were not convinced however, and took to social media to express their fears.

Lochgelly-based community blog, Loch Of Shining Waters, claimed the smoke was an indication hydrocarbons had not been fully combusted.

“The emission is likely to contain volatile organic compounds which are known to exacerbate asthma and other respiratory problems,” they said.

Locals are forming an action group to tackle issues around the Mossmorran site.

Recent flaring has been visible from as far away as Angus and East Lothian and there have been complaints the noise has caused homes to vibrate.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it was aware of the “unplanned incident” and was in touch with operators to understand what had happened and what they were doing to stop it.

The flaring is the result of a sudden, temporary disruption to the feedstock process for the plant...

Thick black smoke could be seen belching from the chimney.

Alarmed residents were not reassured by the Mossmorran plant owner’s claim that the flaring and black smoke are nothing to be concerned about.