July 30th, 2019
The High Court has quashed permission for the construction of a plastic factory in Co Cork that has been strongly opposed by local residents.
An Bord Pleanála’s (ABP) is now tasked with re-evaluating the application for the proposed plastic factory in Poundlick, Skibbereen “in accordance with law”.
Today’s judgment may oblige Daly Products’ Ltd, an Irish division of Minnesota-based RTP Company, to carry out a thorough Nature Impact Assessment (NIS) for the proposed plant.
The decision was “welcomed” by members of Save Our Skibbereen (SOS), a local group opposing the project since early 2017.
“We are advised that it will take a
year to 18 months for procedures between the Bord and Daly Products Limited to
play out, and that no development can be commenced in that period,” the group
said in a statement.
“We remain vigilant and ready to do
whatever it takes to ensure that this dev elopement will never proceed.”
In December, ABP granted planning permission for the plastic factory despite reservations from locals over potential environmental and health issues.
In its decision, the Board said that its own inspector’s recommended refusing permission. The Board, however, determined that the development would not be likely to have a significant effect on nearby biodiversity and air quality in the surrounding area.
Daly Products has stressed the
role of the factory in generating employment opportunities for rural Ireland in
line with the County’s North
and West Strategic Plan 2002-2020.
The SOS group argued that they
were not adequately informed about the potential environmental and health
implications of living nearby a plastic factory.
They said that they were also
concerned about emissions from the plant and any possible chemical runoff to
the town’s sewage treatment system.
Water contamination concerns
SOS has repeatedly voiced its
concern about possible water contamination from nurdles, a by-product of
plastic manufacturing.
Nurdles are inherently non-toxic.
However, they began to act as sponges overtime and can absorb chemicals found
in water such as DDT, a chemical compound used in insecticide.
Marine species often chow down
plastic nurdles, mistaking them for fish eggs. If digested, chemicals adhered
to the nurdles become absorbed into their tissues, making them potentially
hazardous for humans to consume.
Chemicals added to plastics in
the manufacturing process are
believed to be readily absorbed by the human body, with
some plastic compounds found to cause cancer or have other potential health
impacts.
For example, Phthalate, a chemical added to plastic to make it softer, is known to cause infertility, congenital disabilities, and other health issues.
The post High Court quashes plastic factory planning permission appeared first on Green News Ireland.
