The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fears dust cloud is carrying cancer-causing chemicals
VALLEYFIELD: Health concerns as lagoons could be contaminated
Dust clouds bringing misery to west Fife communities are from dumps potentially polluted by toxic chemicals.
As previously reported, the clouds are emanating from Valleyfield’s ash lagoons.
However, according to a report quoted by the Sunday Herald, the lagoons could be contaminated by cancer-causing chemicals and arsenic, which is toxic to humans and wildlife alike.
Ash from Longannet power station, which closed in March 2016, has been mixed with water and disposed of in the lagoons for decades.
However, in the last few weeks a prolonged period of very dry weather, coupled with blustery winds, has seen the ash lift, only to swirl above the west Fife villages, causing health concerns among locals.
ScottishPower has put measures in place to try to alleviate the widespread problem – it has been witnessed as far afield as Cairneyhill on the outskirts of Dunfermline – in recent weeks.
This includes using water bowsers, pumping water straight from the Forth, water spraying and rain curtains.
The nearby Bluther Burn is being used to fill the on-site reservoir and water has been pumped from the Longannet mine, all to dampen the area, equivalent in size to more than 35 football pitches.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has imposed enforcement notices on ScottishPower.
According to the newspaper, a report by Sepa revealed the lagoons are polluted by metals known to cause health problems.
Traces of eight potentially hazardous pollutants from burning coal were said to be detected in 2016.
Local MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville has been leading the fight for a long term solution to the problem.
She wants ScottishPower to commit to keeping specialist equipment on site, to ensure that further incidents are avoided.
The MSP has also suggested that experienced specialists remain on site, and that ScottishPower puts a major emphasis on a restoration plan.
She said Sepa had been undertaking sampling of air particles in the areas affected and she has called for full disclosure of the results.