The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Apocalyptic’ flaring sparks fury in Fife
MOSSMORRAN: Operator ExxonMobil forced to apologise as Sepa begins probe
More than 700 complaints were received during three days of “apocalyptic” flaring at Mossmorran.
Around 740 residents who endured
sleepless nights due to noise, light and vibration pollution contacted environment watchdog Sepa to register concerns.
As the latest incident at the Cowdenbeath plant was brought to an end yesterday, Sepa called on operator ExxonMobil to
“step up and recognise the depth of community anger”.
It has launched an investigation into the cause and warned it would employ all available measures to ensure flaring became the exception rather than the rule.
ExxonMobil has issued an apology, blaming a compressor fault.
Plant manager Jacob McAlister said: “We... apologise for the frustration that the use of our flare can cause.”
More than 700 angry residents have complained about so-called “apocalyptic” flaring at a Fife petrochemical plant as they endured three nights of noise, light and vibration pollution.
Environment watchdog Sepa said it had received 740 complaints about the latest incident at Mossmorran, which was finally brought to an end yesterday afternoon.
At its height, flames could be seen as far as Fife, Edinburgh and Alloa.
Residents described the deep rumblings as being like an earthquake or a low-flying aeroplane, and one woman said she had been on the verge of fleeing her home in terror.
Operator ExxonMobil blamed the flare on a faulty part in a compressor and said it had been replaced.
Plant manager Jacob McAlister apologised for the frustrations suffered by communities nearby and said staff would work to reduce future occurrences.
He said Saturday night’s torrential rain had not contributed to the flaring, which is a safety mechanism used during a process upset.
Sepa has launched an investigation and said it remained frustrated by the frequency of incidents and the lack of information coming from ExxonMobil.
It has called on the firm to recognise the depth of the community’s anger.
The probe will look at whether there has been a breach of the site’s permit conditions and what the next steps should be in line with enforcement policy.
It has already been ascertained that air quality standards were not breached during the past three days but Sepa said there was noise impact on communities.
ExxonMobil is also carrying out its own investigation.
At one point, a flare was burning ethane at a rate of 100 tonnes per hour, which later reduced to 35 tonnes per hour.
Chris Dailly, Sepa’s head of environmental performance, said: “Whilst we are pleased the site has now returned to normal operations and is no longer f lar ing , we rema in frustrated by the frequency of flaring and the flow of information from the operator.
“We’ve also clearly heard the impact f lar ing continues to have on local communities through over 740 reports to us since Sunday.”
He added: “What we need now is for ExxonMobil to step up and recognise the depth of community anger and make real progress in making flaring the exception rather than routine.”
SNP MP Neale Hanvey has asked for a meeting with plant managers and said: “We need answers from Exxon(Mobil) about why peop le in my constituency are again having to face sleepless nights with the appalling noise, light and vibrations coming out of Mossmorran.
“I’ve tried to be as fair and balanced as possible but patience is wearing thin.
“I share the frustrations of the 740 people who submitted complaints to
Sepa.”
Labour MSP Alex Rowley has written to Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham asking her to intervene.
“People are living... with constant fear of Mossmorran and that has to be addressed,” he said.
Mr M cA lister said ExxonMobil understood residents’ frustrations.
“Our teams identified and replaced the part, and conducted comprehensive checks to ensure a safe and reliable restart of the machine,” he said.
“We will finalise our own investigation into the root cause but can confirm that... weather was not a contributing factor.
“We absolutely understand and apologise for the frustration that the use of our flare can cause.
“We will, therefore, continue to work to reduce future occurrences.”
Work on a £140 million investment to reduce the number of incidents at the plant, due to start this year, has been delayed until April due to coronavirus.