Children suffering flaring nightmares

Parents say bed-wetting now a problem

Flaring at a Fife chemical plant left children so afraid they wet their beds, it has been claimed.

At least three cases have been reported of youngsters bed-wetting, allegedly as a result of two recent episodes at Mossmorran.

The flare from Fife Ethylene Plant lit up the sky for miles around for nine days last month. People complained they were unable to sleep due to the light, vibrations and loud rumbling noise.

Councillor Mary Lockhart said she heard three “very upsetting” stories of children wetting the bed as a result of the disturbance.

One, she said, had a nightmare after seeing television footage of the Grenfell Tower fire and woke believing his illuminated bedroom was ablaze.

Children were so disturbed by recent flaring at a Fife chemical plant they wet their beds, it has been claimed.

One boy woke up believing his illuminated bedroom was on fire, like scenes he had watched on the news of Grenfell Tower.

He was so frightened he has slept with his parents since the incident a month ago.

Councillor Mary Lockhart said she had heard three reports of bed wetting among local children as a result of the nine days of unplanned flaring at the Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran.

Although assurances have been offered over the years about air quality and pollution levels from the plant near Cowdenbeath, she said it was time the social impact and effect on mental health was assessed.

Flaring is part of the safety system of the plant, operated by ExxonMobil and Shell, and those who live around it regularly have to put up with the noise and nuisance it causes as a massive flame, visible for miles around, illuminates the night sky.

However, two episodes last month caused particular alarm and have magnified concerns about the potential impact on poeple in places like Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Auchtertool. People reported their homes vibrating and a rumbling noise which sounded like a jet engine.

Scottish environment agency Sepa said it received 80 complaints in relation to the episodes, the second of which saw thick black smoke belch into the atmosphere.

Ms Lockhart said she visited 17 homes during the flaring, which occurred from June 12-17 and June 18-20, to see firsthand how people were suffering.

She said: “I heard three bed-wetting reports. A child was left screaming in the night and ran out of his bedroom.

“He had wet the bed and has been wetting the bed ever since.

“He had been watching footage of the Grenfell Tower fire on the news and had a bad dream. Then he woke up and found his bedroom apparently on fire.

“That child is now still sleeping with his mum and dad.”

She said the flaring had been an upsetting experience for many and added: “The incident may have lasted for only nine days but the impact is going on.”

She added: “For nearly three decades the assessments have focused on air quality and pollution. They haven’t looked at the mental health impact.

“I would be really, really interested to have a serious look, incident by incident.”

A spokesman for ExxonMobil said: “We recognise that these events caused concern and inconvenience and for that we apologise.

“We made every effort to return to normal operations as quickly as possible.

“Many years of rigorous testing by independent consultants... show the ExxonMobil Chemical Limited facilities at Mossmorran and Braefoot Bay have no significant impact on air quality in the local communities and meet national and EU air quality objectives.

“We appreciate the patience of local residents when such incidents occur.

“We do all we can to avoid them, to minimise the inconvenience when they do and to learn from every incident.”

Picture: Steven Brown. The recent flaring at the Mossmorran plant has proved so terrifying for some children they have been wetting their beds and sleeping with their parents.