Families put human face to flaring saga

Mossmorran chemical plant is hardly one of the popular local tourist icons. The natural gas liquids fractionation plant, part of the North Sea Brent oil and gas field system, throws a giant flare into the sky that can be seen for tens of miles on a clear day.

It is not a friendly sight, but it is part of our landscape, and owners Exxon Mobile and Shell are a significant employer in Courier Country. Air quality is constantly monitored.

Flaring is part of the plant’s safety system, but recent prolonged periods of it put a human face to the scenario we wouldn’t normally see.

Residents reported homes shaking, and a rumbling like a jet engine, and Sepa reported 80 complaints during the nine-day period last month that the flaring took place. But behind the scenes, children were terrified. A local councillor says families have reported their children bed-wetting, a new behaviour. Also, a little boy who had seen footage of the Grenfell Tower tragedy on television was struck by terror when his bedroom became illuminated by the flare.

Workers at the plant have said this dramatic, prolonged flaring is inevitable, which they put down to equipment being replaced as it ages, much like you would with a not-sonew car. Is it not possible to go a step beyond? Mossmorran is obviously here to stay, is there not a better compromise to surrounding communities’ uneasy relationship with it?