GALWAY for a SAFE ENVIRONMENT
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WEDNESDAY 12th JANUARY
Galway Bay FM Attn: Local News Desk Galway for a Safe Environment (GSE) Residents for a Responsible Waste Management Policy Wednesday, January 12th, 2000 Welcome for Wexford County Council Decision against Contoversial Incinerator Should be a Lead for Galway and Connacht Local Authorities Public Submission Date on Connacht Draft Plan is now March 31st The decision last Monday by Wexford County Council to emphatically reject the proposed siting of a municipal-waste incinerator in Wexford, has been welcomed by Galway for a Safe Environment as a major blow against waste incinerators in Ireland, and an important lead for Local Authorities in Connacht, who are considering siting a waste incinerator near Galway City. "Wexford County Council is the first local Authority in Ireland to vote on a proposal to host a municipal waste incinerator in their area", said Galway for a Safe Environment PRO, Conchúr Ó Brádaigh, "and the fact that they rejected the incineration option by a vote of 19 to 1 should make our elected representatives on Galway Corporation and Galway County Council sit up and realise that there are serious health implications involved in large-scale incineration of municipal waste". Even politicians such as Ivan Yates TD, who is also a member of Wexford County Council, are quoted as being worried about the effect of dioxins on human health (see Irish Times enclosed, Tuesday, January 11th)". Mr Yates referred to a recent EU study, entitled EU Dioxin Exposure and Health Data, which had linked exposure to dioxins with a range of health risks, including liver damage, suppression of the immune system, formation of cancers and abnormalities in foetal development. It was significant that the Wexford consultants' Swedish expert on incineration, Prof. Christoper Rappe, admitted that he hadn't even read the EU report. "The Wexford incinerator proposal was part of a Regional waste-management strategy for the South-East, and is very similar to the Connacht Draft Waste Management Plan, which was published before Christmas, and is currently open for submissions", said Mr. Ó Brádaigh. "Both plans involve waste from all over a large region being transported to a central incinerator for burning" The Connacht Draft Waste Management Plan envisages an incinerator being sited close to Galway City to burn up to 120,000 tonnes of waste per annum, from all over the province. The Galway Local Authorities announced last October that they had selected four sites for the incinerator, three in Castlegar Parish, and one at Galway Docks. Galway for a Safe Environment (GSE) is a group which was set up in late 1999 to oppose the siting of a waste incinerator in Galway, and to promote alternative methods of landfill reduction, such as intensive reduction, re-use and re-cycling of domestic and industrial waste. Over 300 people attended a public meeting held by the group on incineration last November. Conchúr Ó Brádaigh said that GSE would be intensifying its lobbying and education efforts between now and March 31st, which was the deadline for the public to make submissions to the Connacht Draft Waste Management Plan. Submissions can be made in writing to any one of the local authorities in Connacht before that date. Ends: Confirmation: Conchúr Ó Brádaigh 087-2830452 / 091-799223 Joe Jacobsen 087-2328211 / 091-798803 <!-- HTML Markup endspan --> </td> </tr> </table> <a name=bottom></a> </body> </html>