Peel seeks to allay health fears over energy plant

THE PEEL Group has attempted to allay fears that its planned biomass energy plant in Greater Manchester could be harmful to health.

It has publicised the views of the Health Protection Agency which has stated such a plant would, “not present any obvious cause for concern in regards to a significant health risk… providing it is well managed and maintained.”

But opponents who are campaigning under the banner of the Breathe Clean Air Group (BCAG) say Peel is misleading the public by selectively quoting the HPA.

Peel wants to build a biomass plant on the Manchester Ship Canal close to the Trafford Centre in Barton that it says would generate low carbon electricity for 37,000 homes and divert 140,000 tonnes of wood destined for landfill every year.

In a response to Trafford’s planning team the HPA added: “Providing the incinerator complies with relevant regulations, the human health risk assessment suggests that the risks to human health from emissions from this proposed development are negligible.”

Peel Energy’s project manager Jon England said: “The HPA is the latest in a line of organisations consulted by Trafford Planning Authority that have responded by saying that they are satisfied with the proposals put forward in the biomass plant planning application. We are obviously pleased that the HPA agrees that the proposal presents a negligible public health risk to the local community.”

But Pete Kilvert, chairman of the BCAG, said: “The HPA says that the incinerator should comply with relevant regulations. The regulations require that plants should comply with the best available techniques for protecting the public. Unfortunately the Barton Renewable Energy Plant is going to use cheap and old technology which will produce emissions containing dioxins, heavy metals and PM1 particulate matter. Its cheap, old, bag-filtration system will not be able to capture these emissions.”

He added: “They say that health effects are likely to be small and not detectable. This is because they will not be trying to detect PM1 particulates. PM1 particulates are common emissions from burning wood and will not even be tested for. PM1 emissions are likely to cause respiratory disease and recently they have been linked to heart disease.”