Artful COdger
WHILE their current efforts are aimed at stopping a waste incinerator being built at Lynn, West Norfolk Borough Council need to keep the long-term picture in view and make plans to cope with all eventualities.
If – heaven forbid – the incinerator was ever built, then the borough council should make it clear now that they will continue to live up to their responsibilities for the health and welfare of the populace in the area. The best way they could do this would be to set up a series of independent air quality monitoring facilities throughout West Norfolk – particularly downwind to the incinerator site – to give everyone a clear and on-going picture of exactly what was being pumped into the atmosphere by the waste burning process.
There is already deep distrust locally of Norfolk County Council and the incinerator’s developers Cory Wheelabrator following the “surveys” with heavily-loaded questions which they have used to back up their claims they have local support for the project.
While we have already been given some details of the proposed quantities and types of waste that would be burned at Lynn, we all know that this kind of detail can quickly be changed once a plant is built and in operation. At that point the operators of the plant are in control of the situation, and the public have no say over what happens next.
Yes, there would be machinery built into the plant to deal with potentially dangerous emissions, but just how effective would that be? Machinery is only as efficient as the people who operate it, and anyone who works in a factory will tell you that human beings, no matter how good they are, are not perfect.
If something did go wrong, how soon would it be before it was detected? What if it was simply not detected at all, or at least not until months or even years had passed? How long could the machinery be used before it needed replacement? What if the workload is suddenly increased and it is asked to deal with huge volumes of waste material non-stop?
At least if there were completely independent stations monitoring air quality all over West Norfolk, the borough council could perhaps allay the fears of local people with respiratory conditions. And take action if there was a problem.
By making their position on this issue crystal clear right now, the borough council would be firing a warning shot across the bows of Norfolk County Council and Cory Wheelabrator, indicating that if they did manage to get their plant past the planning procedure, they would not be in a position to do just as they pleased.
Things may never get to this stage, as there are still plenty of hurdles for the incinerator to fall at. On environmental grounds alone, it is sheer lunacy to build a plant of this nature in a high flood risk area. Mind you, the way in which Norfolk County Council have set out their arguments and pursued this matter so far demonstrates a worrying lack of understanding of the core issues and a heavy-handed manner of dealing with major issues, suggesting they will blunder on blindly with little regard or awareness of the consequences. Faced with this unfeeling, uncaring regime, all the people of West Norfolk can do is continue to battle for justice. And try and protect their futures, and their children’s futures.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
