March 6th, 2020
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold an oral hearing to re-evaluate
its decision to grant an industrial emissions licence to Irish Cement to allow
for the burning of non-hazardous waste as fuel at its factory in Co Limerick.
The announcement follows persistent public
scrutiny about the EPA’s decision to greenlight the factory’s request for
receiving the licence. The Oral Hearing is set for May and will be chaired by senior
inspector Mr Patrick Byrne.
The Oral Hearing is open to members of the
public. Members of the public who have not submitted an objection to date but
wish to participate in the proceedings can do so with the approval of the
Chairperson. Any such request can only be made to the Chairperson during the
Oral Hearing.
In
a switch from burning fossil fuels, the licence allows for the annual burning
of 90,000 of a wide range of “non-hazardous” waste items at the
factory as “alternative” fuel, including plastic, used tyres and
animal waste.
Concerned citizens in Limerick are worried
about the potential hazardous nature of emissions arising from the burnt waste
material, arguing that it would jeopardise public and environmental safety and
undermine air quality in Limerick.
The EPA said that it was
“satisfied” that emissions from the plant would not pose a threat to
the public when “operated in accordance with the conditions of the
proposed licence”. The conditions,
stipulated by the EPA, include controls on emissions to air, water discharge as
well as rigid emission monitoring measures.
Irish Cement argues that replacing fossil
fuel with alternative power is standard practice across Europe and will lead to
significant alleviation of CO2 emissions. The company has also said that the
Castlemungret plant has secured jobs for the locals and is pertinent to
Limerick’s economic health.
In late 2017, Irish Cement was fined
€4,000 for breaching the terms of its emission licence at its plant in
Castlemungret following reports of thick “glue-like” dust leakage
from its facility to the environment.
The EPA received 21 health and safety
complaints from locals who documented dust on their cars, homes and gardens. In court, Irish Cement claimed that it did
whatever it could to make amends and provided car wash facilities for those
impacted by the leakage.
According to The Irish Examiner, the company was convicted of two counts of breaching its Industrial Emissions License on dates in April and May 2017. Irish Cement has also featured on the EPA’s quarterly worst offender’s list for breaching environmental regulations on several occasions over the past few years.
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